India to revise GDP measurement next year

India will soon revise the way it measures gross domestic product to reflect under-represented and informal economic sectors, two government sources said, in an initiative that is expected to show the economy is larger than previously thought. India usually revises the method of calculating national accounts and other macro data every five years, bringing in a newer base year and adjusting for changes in the economy. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is committed to raising economic growth and slashing the fiscal deficit, plans to adjust the measurement early in 2015, a senior official at the Ministry of Statistics said. ‘We plan to release GDP data based on the 2011/12 base year by early next year, that could theoretically revise up the growth estimates,’ the official said, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media, according to Reuters.