India’s GDP growth: New evidence for fresh beginnings | The Indian Express

India’s GDP growth: New evidence for fresh beginnings | The Indian Express

Written by Arvind Subramanian |Updated: June 11, 2019 11:02:22 am

The writer is former chief economic advisor to the government of India.

India’s GDP growth: New evidence for fresh beginnings

Methodological changes have led to overestimating GDP growth by 2.5 percentage points per year between 2011-12 and 2016-17. Actual growth is around 4.5 per cent.

Growth estimates matter not just for reputational reasons but critically for internal policy-making. (Illustration by C R Sasikumar)

The promise of democracy is the periodic opportunity it creates for fresh beginnings. A government re-elected with such a resounding mandate should continue with the successful aspects of its economic policies. The most notable has been promoting economic inclusion via the public provision of essential private goods and services, including toilets, housing, power, cooking gas, bank accounts, emergency medical assistance, and now a basic income for all farmers.