New GDP and CPI Base Year To Take Effect From February 2026: MOSPI

Garg also mentioned that the ministry is exploring alternative data sources, such as night light data and e-commerce price trends, to enhance its surveys and improve data accuracy

The revised base years for national accounts, including GDP and other key macroeconomic indicators such as the consumer price index (CPI), are set to take effect from February 2026, a senior government official confirmed on Friday.

Saurabh Garg, Secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) stated, "The new series for macro-indicators will be implemented from February 2026, and fiscal year 2022-23 will be the new base year for the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) data.”

Garg also mentioned that the ministry is exploring alternative data sources, such as night light data and e-commerce price trends, to enhance its surveys and improve data accuracy.

“We are working on revisions of GDP and CPI series. We are also trying to collaborate with researchers to use alternative data sources for our surveys,” said Garg while addressing an event organised by Ashoka University’s Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA). 

This will mark the first revision of the country's macroeconomic indicators in nearly a decade, with the last update taking place in January 2015, when the GDP base year was shifted from 2004-05 to 2011-12.

Previous plans to revise the base year were delayed after the government decided to scrap the 2017-18 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey due to concerns over data quality.

The 26-member Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics (ACNAS), chaired by Biswanath Goldar, is expected to complete the revision process by early 2026.

Regular updates to the base year are crucial to ensure that economic indices accurately capture changes in the economy's structure, including shifts in consumption patterns, sectoral weightings, and the inclusion of new sectors.

Garg also announced that the ministry will begin releasing monthly estimates from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) starting in January next year.