June quarter GDP data out: Here's what the numbers tell us

If the preferred yardstick is growth in gross value-added, growth has perked up sharply from 6.1% in Jan-Mar to 7.1% in the April-June quarter.

Is economic growth in the April-June quarter higher than in the January-March quarter? Well, that depends.

It depends on whether you prefer to look at gross domestic product (GDP) growth at market prices or at gross value-added (GVA). Taking GDP growth at market prices (at constant prices), the April-June 2015 quarter saw growth at 7%, lower than the 7.5% notched up during the previous quarter. In other words, the economy is decelerating.

Is-there-something-else-that-we-ought-to-take-into-account-such-as-the-new-formula-for-calculating-India-s-GDP-a-change-that-was-made-from-last-year-Illustration-Abhimanyu-Sinha

If your preferred yardstick is growth in GVA instead, on the grounds that the GDP at market prices is distorted by indirect taxes and subsidies, then economic growth has perked up very sharply, from 6.1% in the January-March 2015 quarter to 7.1% in the April-June quarter. In other words, the economy is accelerating.

The markets, policymakers and the Reserve Bank of India, or RBI, can choose whichever yardstick they prefer.

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