IMF team headed for India to get a fix on new GDP method

Singapore, May 8 (BSS/PTI) The International Monetary Fund  (IMF) will soon send a team to India to get a grasp of  the implementation of the government's new GDP methodology,  which has been questioned in certain quarters, including RBI.

IMF's Director for Asia and Pacific Department Changyong  Rhee said the change in the methodology was a "welcome  move by India" and this was in line with what the multilateral  lending institution had suggested. However, a delegation will be sent to India "to discuss  and understand the implementation of this methodology", Rhee told PTI here.

 Earlier this year, India changed the way it measures its  GDP or economic output and revised its economic growth  estimates accordingly.

Besides change in the base year, the revised national  accounts series incorporates numerous conceptual and  methodological improvements to make it more consistent with international best practices.

However, the revised data have been termed as "puzzling" by a number of experts and policymakers alike while the  Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had also sought clarity from the  government on the new methodology and the revised figures.