Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday hit out at those questioning India’s 7.8% GDP growth figure for the April-June 2026 quarter. The minister accused them of comparing an old data series with a new one and describing them as “the only jobless people left”.
“I see on TV some of the Opposition leaders, even possibly a former finance secretary or a former RBI (Reserve Bank of India) governor, both of whom could not complete their tenure in India… They don’t even know [that they should] compare apples with apples. They are trying to misguide the people of India, comparing growth rate [based on an] old series with a new series where the base year itself has changed,” he said while speaking at the annual session of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA).
In a separate development, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has clarified India’s GDP estimation methodology, the negative manufacturing deflator and the revisions made to the first-quarter GDP estimates.
This clarification comes after debate over the GDP data released as Former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg questioned the 7.8% GDP growth data for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026-27.
‘The Only Jobless People Left’: Piyush Goyal Hits Out On GDP Growth Data Critics
