The government has, in recent months, implemented several long-overdue but welcome upgrades to India’s statistical databases. Wide-ranging, they cover the way the country measures Gross Domestic Product (GDP), industrial production, and price changes at the retail, wholesale, and producer levels. These updates have not only made India’s key economic statistics more representative of reality, but have also brought them in line with international best practices. The most basic change across all indices has been the updating of base years. Until recently, the base years for GDP, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), Wholesale Price Index (WPI), and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) were either 2011 or 2012. As such, these measures were significantly outdated and less reflective of reality with each passing year. In February, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the new series of national accounts data, including GDP, with a base year of 2022-23. The new series incorporates methodological improvements and new data sources, making it more granular and robust. Some of these, such as the double-deflator approach, have long been demanded by statisticians and international bodies, including the IMF.

Similarly, MoSPI had in February also released the new series of the CPI with an updated base year of 2024, a more inclusive basket of items measured, and more accurate weightages. This has enabled a more realistic reading of retail inflation, a key metric in interest-rate decisions. In early June, MoSPI then released the new series of the IIP as well. The base year was updated to 2022-23 and the index’s data collection was strengthened. This, too, eventually feeds into more accurate GDP data. The other factor to be highlighted is that the data upgrades have not been limited to just MoSPI. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry also updated its WPI, releasing the new series on Monday. A more accurate WPI and CPI yield a more accurate GDP deflator, which strengthens the way that statisticians derive real GDP growth after having adjusted for inflation. The Commerce Ministry also released a new Producer Price Index (PPI), which is to replace the WPI in five years. A PPI is the standard among developed economies and provides more information about both goods and service price levels at the producer stage. With all these, the IMF is sure to improve the recurring ‘C’ grade it has given India’s national accounts data. These, it is hoped, will also be capped off by a time-bound release of the new Census with no further delays.

India’s industrial production growth slowed to a 13-month low of 0.4% in October this year due to the poor showing by power, mining and manufacturing sectors, according to official data released on Monday (December 1, 2025).

The factory output, measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had expanded by 3.7% in October 2024.

The previous low was recorded as flat growth in September 2024.

The National Statistics Office (NSO) revised the industrial production growth to 4.6% for September 2025 from the provisional estimate of 4% released last month.

The latest NSO data showed that the manufacturing sector’s output growth decelerated to 1.8% in October 2025 from 4.4% in the year-ago month.

Mining production contracted by 1.8% against a growth of 0.9% recorded a year ago.

Power production contracted by 6.9% in October 2025, compared to a 2% expansion in the year-ago period.

During the April-October period of FY26, the country’s industrial production growth decelerated by 2.7% compared to 4% in the same period a year ago.

Growth in industrial activity slowed to a 14-month low of 0.4% in October 2025, pulled down by contractions in the electricity and consumer non-durables sector, as well as relatively slow growth in the manufacturing sector.

Data on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed that growth in the index was last lower than the latest figures in August 2024, when it had come in at 0%.

The electricity sector contracted 6.9% in October 2025, compared with a growth of 2% in October last year. The consumer non-durables sector contracted 4.4% compared with a growth of 2.8% over the same period.

“Consumer goods registered negative growth, and the inventory factor would have played out,” Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at the Bank of Baroda said. “It was -0.5% for durables and -4.4% for non-durables. This would need to be monitored for the next two months where traction in a positive direction should be seen.”

The mining and quarrying sector contracted 1.8% in October 2025, with the sector contracting in six out of the last seven months. The manufacturing sector grew at a nearly two-year low of 1.8%, down from 4.4% in October last year.

The infrastructure and construction goods sector grew by 7.1% in October 2025, up from 4.7% in October last year. However, this was lower than the double-digit growth the sector has been seeing in the July-September 2025 quarter.

Growth in industrial activity in India slowed to 4% in August 2025 from its 6-month high growth of 4.3% in July. Growth was dragged down by the consumer durables and non-durables sectors, as well as slower growth in manufacturing, capital goods, and infrastructure sectors, government data showed.

On the other hand, mining activity, the primary goods sector, and electricity output saw a positive turnaround.

Data on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Monday (September 29, 2025), showed that growth in the index this August was considerably faster than the 0% growth seen in August last year.

“This data should be read with caution as it captures neither the tariff nor GST effect which have been in the news and affected sentiment in business,” Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist at the Bank of Baroda said. “Tariffs were implemented from Aug 27th while GST benefits kicked in late September,” he added.

The mining and quarrying sector in particular saw a significant turnaround. It grew 6% in August 2025, a 14-month high, snapping a four-month streak of contractions.

The second sector to see a robust turnaround was the primary goods sector, which saw growth coming in at a seven-month high of 5.2%. The electricity sector grew at a five-month high of 4.1% in August 2025.

The manufacturing sector, however, slowed to 3.8% in August 2025, down from 6% in July. This was quicker than the 1.2% growth the sector saw in August last year.

Similarly, growth in the capital goods sector slowed in August 2025 to 4.4% from 6.7% in July 2025. This was, however, quicker than the 0% seen in August last year.

Growth in the infrastructure and construction goods sector remained in double digits, at 10.6%, although this was slower than the growth seen in July 2025 of 13.7%.

Consumer-focused sectors saw growth slowing. The growth in the consumer durables sector slowed to 3.5% in August 2025 from 7.3% in July and 5.4% in August last year. The consumer non-durables sector saw activity contracting 6.3%, the worst performance in eight months.