Release of Report of the ‘Sub-Committee on Methodological Improvements' in 2022-23 series of National Accounts

1. At a Glance

• A report of one of the five Sub-Committees set up under the Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics (ACNAS) to guide MoSPI's revision of the base year of National Accounts to FY 2022-23 (from 2011-12) [S1][S2].
• Focus area: methodological changes in compilation of GDP, GVA and related aggregates, including treatment of multi-activity enterprises and use of new datasets [S1][S2].
• UPSC relevance: links GS-III (Economy — national income, statistics) with governance reforms in India's statistical system.

2. Why in the News

• 18 February 2026: MoSPI released the Report of the Sub-Committee on Methodological Improvements on the mospi.gov.in portal [S1].
• Comes ahead of the 27 February 2026 scheduled release of the new GDP series with base year 2022-23 [S2][S4].
• Part of a sequence of sub-committee reports released in early 2026 (Methodological Improvements, New Data Sources/Rates & Ratios, Constant Price Estimates) [S1][S3][S5].

3. Background & Evolution

• India's previous base year for National Accounts: 2011-12 (notified 2015) [S1].
• ACNAS (Advisory Committee on National Account Statistics), chaired by Prof. B.N. Goldar, constituted to advise MoSPI on data sources and methodology [S1][S2].
• Five Sub-Committees constituted under ACNAS with a term of 2 years [S2]: 1. Incorporation of New Data Sources, Rates and Ratios 2. Methodological Improvements 3. Constant Price Estimates 4. (Sub-Committee on Sub-national/State Accounts) 5. (Sub-Committee on Quarterly Estimates) [S1]
• Preparatory work: Discussion Paper on "Methodological Improvements in Compilation of National Accounts Aggregates Using Expenditure Approach" earlier released for public consultation [S6].

4. Core Static Facts

• Parent Ministry: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) [S1].
• Apex advisory body: ACNAS — Chair Prof. B.N. Goldar [S1].
• New base year: 2022-23 (replacing 2011-12) [S2].
• Number of Sub-Committees: 5 [S1].
• Report release date: 18 Feb 2026 [S1].
• Scheduled new GDP series release: 27 Feb 2026 [S2].
• Composition of ACNAS: representatives from Central Ministries/Departments, State Governments, Academia, Research Institutions [S2].
• Key new data sources leveraged: MCA21 (MGT-9) filings for activity-wise revenue share, GSTN, administrative datasets [S2].
• Standards followed: System of National Accounts (SNA) 2008 framework (UN/IMF/World Bank/OECD/EU joint standard) [S2].

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

• Economic
• Multi-activity enterprises: earlier (2011-12 series), entire GVA was assigned to the industry of the enterprise's major activity; new series uses MGT data activity-wise revenue shares to properly split GVA across industries [S2].
• Likely re-rating of sectoral shares (services vs manufacturing) and possible upward revision of formal-sector share.
• Administrative / Governance
• Institutionalises an independent expert advisory architecture (ACNAS + sub-committees) as a precondition to base-year revision, improving transparency [S1].
• Discussion papers placed for public/stakeholder comments before adoption [S6].
• Scientific / Methodological
• Strengthens Expenditure Approach compilation (PFCE, GFCE, GFCF, exports-imports) alongside production approach [S6].
• Aligns Indian estimates more closely with SNA 2008 norms.
• Federal / State
• Sub-national accounts work continues in parallel; methodological harmonisation benefits State Domestic Product estimation by State DESs.

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• 2025: Discussion paper on Expenditure Approach methodology released by MoSPI [S6].
• 18 Feb 2026: Release of Sub-Committee on Methodological Improvements report [S1].
• Feb 2026: Release of Sub-Committee report on New Data Sources, Rates and Ratios [S3].
• Feb 2026: Release of Sub-Committee report on Constant Price Estimates [S5].
• 27 Feb 2026 (scheduled): Roll-out of new GDP series with base year 2022-23 [S2].

7. Prelims Hooks

• ACNAS = Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics; chair Prof. B.N. Goldar [S1].
• Implementing ministry: MoSPI (not RBI, not NITI Aayog, not Finance Ministry) [S1].
• Number of Sub-Committees under ACNAS: 5 [S1].
• Term of each Sub-Committee: 2 years [S2].
• New base year: 2022-23; previous base year: 2011-12 [S1][S2].
• New GDP series release date: 27 February 2026 [S2].
• Methodological Improvements Report released: 18 February 2026 [S1].
• Standard framework followed: System of National Accounts (SNA) 2008 [S2].
• Key administrative dataset used: MCA21 filings (MGT-9 — activity-wise revenue share) [S2].
• 2011-12 series treated multi-activity enterprises by "major share" criterion; new series uses activity-wise allocation [S2].
• Discussion paper on the Expenditure Approach preceded the report [S6].

8. Mains Relevance

• GS-III — Indian Economy / Mobilisation of Resources / Growth and Development.
• Syllabus heading: "Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development" and "Government Budgeting".
• Plausible question stems: 1. "Periodic revision of the base year of National Accounts is critical for accurate measurement of growth. Discuss the institutional mechanism adopted by MoSPI for the 2022-23 base year revision." (15 marks) 2. "Examine how incorporation of administrative datasets such as MCA21 and GSTN can improve the credibility of India's GDP estimates." (10 marks) 3. "Robust national statistics are a public good. In the context of recent reforms in National Accounts, discuss the governance challenges in India's statistical system." (15 marks)

9. Related Topics to Study Next

• SNA 2008 — international standard ACNAS aligns to.
• MCA21 database — core data source under new series.
• GST Network (GSTN) data — increasingly used in GVA estimation.
• National Statistical Commission (NSC) — apex oversight body for official statistics.
• PLFS, ASI, MoSPI surveys — input data for GVA.
• Index of Industrial Production (IIP) revision — parallel base-year exercise.
• CPI base year revision — companion price-index reform.
• NSSO–CSO merger into NSO (2019) — institutional context.

10. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• ACNAS is under MoSPI, not RBI or NITI Aayog.
• ACNAS chair is B.N. Goldar, sometimes confused with other expert committees (e.g., Rangarajan, C. Rangarajan Committee on poverty was different).
• Base year 2022-23 is for National Accounts/GDP, not for CPI or IIP (which have their own revision cycles).
• The Sub-Committee on Methodological Improvements is distinct from the Sub-Committee on New Data Sources, Rates and Ratios — both released in Feb 2026.
• New series follows SNA 2008, not SNA 1993 (a common stale fact).

11. Sources

• [S1] Release of Report of the 'Sub-Committee on Methodological Improvements' in 2022-23 series of National Accounts — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2229731 — (tier: 1)
• [S2] New series of national accounts with FY 2022-23 as base — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2192575 — (tier: 1)
• [S3] Release of Report of the 'Sub-Committee on Incorporation for New Data Sources, Rates and Ratios' (ACNAS, Base Year 2022-23) — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2232301 — (tier: 1)
• [S4] NEW SERIES OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (GDP) ESTIMATES WITH BASE YEAR 2022-23 — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2233518 — (tier: 1)
• [S5] Release of Report of the 'Sub-Committee for Constant Price Estimates' for the 2022-23 series — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2230807 — (tier: 1)
• [S6] Release of Discussion Paper on "Methodological Improvements in Compilation of National Accounts Aggregates Using Expenditure Approach" — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2204591 — (tier: 1)