New Delhi, Sept. 3 -- The Congress on Thursday challenged the Narendra Modi government's reported 7.8 per cent GDP growth in the April-June 2026 quarter, alleging that systematic revisions and methodological changes had inflated growth figures over the past four years.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the headline growth figure appeared questionable when the underlying calculations were examined. He alleged that the government had revised the April-June 2025 GDP base from Rs 86 lakh crore to Rs 80 lakh crore, thereby increasing the year-on-year growth rate.
Citing calculations by former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, Ramesh claimed that without the downward revision, nominal growth would have been 2.6 per cent instead of 10.3 per cent, translating into near-zero real growth after accounting for inflation.
He said cumulative downward revisions over four financial years amounted to Rs 43 lakh crore and demanded an explanation from the government.
Ramesh also questioned the GDP deflator of 2.5 per cent against retail inflation of 3.9 per cent and wholesale inflation of 9.4 per cent.
He cited data indicating a 5.2 per cent contraction in manufacturing GVA and a 5.4 per cent decline in private consumption. The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index, he said, fell to a five-year low in August.
Ramesh also cited concerns raised by former Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian over growth estimates and the IMF's "C" rating for India's national accounts in late 2025.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.