Sources and Methods for Compilation of National Accounts Statistics

Key Highlights:

• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the new National Accounts Statistics series with base year 2022-23.
• This new series replaces the earlier 2011-12 base year series, marking the eighth such revision for India.
• MoSPI also released the "Sources and Methods for Compilation of National Accounts Statistics" publication detailing the new methodologies.
• The Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics (ACNAS) was constituted to deliberate on the base-year revision exercise.

Detailed Insights:

• The publication provides a consolidated account of concepts, definitions, data sources, and compilation practices adopted in the new series.
• ACNAS formed four sub-committees focusing on new data sources, methodological improvement, constant price estimates, and regional accounts.
• Extensive consultations were held with academia, experts, government departments, NITI Aayog, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• Estimation methodologies for the corporate, financial, government, and household sectors have been modernized.
• For the household sector, direct estimation now uses data from Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) and Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).
• Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE) now adopts the Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (COICOP) 2018 framework.
• Quarterly GDP compilation now uses the Proportional Denton approach and increased use of Goods & Services Tax (GST) and other administrative data.
• The report also includes methodology for Supply Use Tables (SUT) and guidelines for Regional Accounts, aiming for a more robust and transparent framework.

Key Concepts Involved:

• National Accounts Statistics: A comprehensive system of macroeconomic accounts providing a detailed picture of economic activity.
• Base Year Revision: The process of updating the reference year for economic indicators to reflect structural changes in the economy.
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP): The total monetary value of all finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period.
• Gross Value Added (GVA): A measure of the contribution to GDP made by an individual producer, industry, or sector.
• Private Final Consumption Expenditure (PFCE): The total expenditure incurred by households and non-profit institutions serving households on final consumption.
• Supply Use Tables (SUT): Detailed matrices showing the supply of goods and services by industry and their use by industries and final demand categories.