Govt to change GDP base year to 201718 from 201112

The statistics ministry is set to change the base year of national accounts to 2017-18 from 2011-12 after completion of the household consumer expenditure survey and labour force data by the end of 2018.

“My ministry has planned to revise the base year of National Accounts Statistics to 2017-18. The preparatory work has been started,” statistics minister DV Sadananda Gowda told reporters while addressing a press conference on the government’s performance in the last three years.

“Once the results of employment survey and household consumer expenditure survey come out then base year can be changed. Those are critical inputs into the base revision,” chief statistician TCA Anant said.

He also expressed hope for the economy growing at faster pace in April-June quarter on the back of a good monsoon and policy reforms by the government.

The new labour force survey and household consumer expenditure survey will be available by 2018, Anant said.

Last month, the CSO has changed the base of Index of Industrial Production, which measures factory output, to 2011-12 from 2004-05. The base year of wholesale price indexbased inflation has also been changed to 2011-12 from 2004-05.

The minister also said that CSO is planning to to develop a portal for collecting data, which will reduce the time lag in release of the monthly index from the current 42 days.