States told to shift to new base year for GSDP by end of FY27

The statistics ministry has asked states to adopt 2022-23 as the new base year for the computation of gross state domestic product (GSDP) by the end of fiscal 2027. The directive follows the rollout of the revised national GDP series earlier this year.

"The timeline given to states to complete the transition is this financial year," said a government official.

The move aims to align state-level estimates with the updated national accounts framework and improve the comparability and accuracy of regional economic data across the country.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) revised the national GDP base year to 2022-23 from 2011-12 in February, incorporating new data sources to better capture economic activity and structural changes in the economy.

At present, 34 states and union territories compile GSDP with 2011-12 as the base year, except for Lakshadweep and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

Earlier this week, the ministry issued detailed guidelines for compiling GSDP with the revised 2022-23 base year. The framework emphasises greater use of administrative records, sectoral databases and survey inputs to improve the coverage and reliability of regional statistics.

"Some states are ahead in the transition process compared to others, but all states will eventually have to move to the new base year," said the official.

For the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), the official said, there is no mandate for states to revise its base year, though the Centre is willing to assist those that choose to undertake the exercise.

The national IIP series is set to shift to the 2022-23 base year on June 1.

States are also free to develop sub-state level Consumer Price Index (CPI), though there is no directive from the Centre to do so, the official said.

The MoSPI currently releases state-level CPI indices with base year 2024 in line with the national series.