Jaitley defends official' back-series GDP datan

New Delhi: As a political row broke out over the back-series GDP data, finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday jumped in to defend the downward revision in growth rates during the previous UPA regime, saying the new numbers were reflective of real state of the economy.

With his predecessor P. Chidambaram calling revised GDP growth rates “a bad joke” and “a hatchet job”, Mr Jaitley took the attack to the opposition camp saying the Congress leader had previously welcomed the GDP numbers based on a new series when the data was revised upwards for the last two years of the UPA regime but is now criticising when the same formula has been used to re-state the numbers of previous years.

“The new series is more broad-based and is a better reflection of the Indian economy. It is globally more comparable,” he said as he defended the work of Central Statistics Office (CSO) — the agency responsible for collating the data. “The CSO is a highly credible organisation, it maintains an arm’s length distance from the finance ministry.”

The new numbers show the economic growth rate averaged 6.7 per cent during the UPA regime as compared to 7.3 per cent under the present government. Old numbers had put the average growth rate during the 10-year UPA rule at 7.75 per cent.

Mr Chidambaram, however, called the exercise a “bad joke”. “Now that Niti Aayog has done the hatchet job, it is time to wind up the utterly worthless body,” he tweeted. “The earlier numbers were calculated by the National Statistical Commission. Has the Commission been disbanded?”

Ex-chief statistician Pronab Sen, he said, is absolutely correct. “Niti Aayog has nothing to do with tabulation of data.”

“I wonder if Niti Aayog VC Rajiv Kumar will agree to a debate the data than telling journalists that their questions are “undeserving of an answer”,” he had tweeted.

Mr Kumar, who had on Wednesday hosted chief statistician Pravin Srivastava to announce the so-called back-series data, accepted the challenge.

“Let’s discuss & dissect back series data. I gave 3 hrs of detailed interview yesterday & it is somewhat disingenuous of you to say that I asked the media to not ask questions. Do give more coherent reasons for ur difficulty with new data,” he tweeted.

Mr Kumar defended the press conference saying “Niti Aayog uses data extensively for making logical policy recommendations. The data is always based on assessment & quality check by eminent statisticians.”

“Therefore, it was logical for @NITIAayog to provide the platform for its release. Pronab Sen would know that MOSPI & Yojana Bhavan worked closely together,” he said.