'Congress-affiliated commentators': BJP on critics doubting 'outstanding' GDP numbers

New Delhi, Aug 31 Hailing the outstanding GDP numbers, BJP leader Amit Malviya on Sunday took a swipe at the "fake narrative" of "Congress-affiliated commentators" and described India's growth story as "real, solid and unstoppable".

Malviya, an ex-banker and in-charge of the BJP's National Information and Technology Department, dished out statistics and wrote on X, "India's critics have been stunned into silence by our outstanding GDP numbers! 7.8 per cent growth in April–June FY26, Fastest expansion in five quarters and Broad-based momentum across agriculture, manufacturing, construction and services."

Malviya said, "The forever-pessimist 'experts' have been unable to digest the strong growth momentum of our economy, and are peddling a false commentary that real growth numbers cannot be trusted."

"Why are these ill-informed experts constantly undermining the economic achievements of our people? Why do they keep creating doubts about our growth momentum?" asked Malviya.

"The truth is far from the fake narratives pushed by Congress-affiliated commentators," he said.

Malviya wrote on X, "Converting nominal GDP (valued at current prices) into real GDP (valued at constant prices) by applying an inflation indicator is a longstanding and globally accepted practice. This method is not unique to India - all statistical systems deflate nominal GDP by an appropriate price index to measure real economic activity."

A small gap between real and nominal GDP growth is simply a statistical reflection of the prevailing low-inflation environment, not a data anomaly, said the ex-banker.

The GDP deflator covers the full spectrum of goods and services in the economy, unlike CPI (limited to household consumption) or WPI (which excludes services). Former Chief Statistician Pronab Sen has even noted that the GDP deflator is "possibly the most accurate measure of inflation", he said.

"The price indices used to calculate the GDP deflator have remained unchanged for many years and follow the same methodology since the UPA era. If inflation is low, the deflator will naturally also be low. This is precisely the case in Q1 FY 2025-26," he said in a post on X.

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