‘Outdated base year’: FM Sitharaman explains IMF’s ‘C’ grade on national accounts; says GDP growth figures not questioned

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday clarified that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) did not question India’s growth figures, and said the Fund’s ‘C’ grade on national accounts stems solely from the use of an outdated base year. She said the IMF, in fact, acknowledged India’s healthy economic performance and the resilience of its financial sector, according to PTI.

Responding to concerns raised by NCP MP Supriya Sule during a Lok Sabha discussion on the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, Sitharaman told the House that India will shift to a new base year of 2022-23 for national accounts from February 27, 2026. She said the current assessments rely on data based on the 2011-12 base year, which the IMF flagged as outdated while assigning the ‘C’ grade.




According to PTI, the Minister emphasised that the IMF’s report focuses largely on India’s robust growth outlook. The Fund expects GDP to expand 6.5 per cent in 2025-26 and highlighted private-sector activity, macroeconomic stability and financial-sector strength as key drivers. It also noted inflation remains below the RBI’s tolerance band and projected it at 4.3 per cent for the full year.

Sitharaman said the lower grade was tied specifically to statistical parameters. “The ‘C’ grade is assigned to the National Accounts data because it is based on an outdated base year, 2011-12,” she said, adding that the shift to the updated base year in 2026 will address the issue. “The IMF report does not question the growth figures,” she reiterated.

Citing latest economic data, she said the Indian economy grew 8.2 per cent in the July-September quarter — a six-quarter high — after expanding 7.8 per cent in the April-June period. “It (IMF) didn’t question the growth figures we have given. On the contrary, they said we will be growing at 6.5 per cent. They appreciated our inflation management,” she said.

The Minister added that India received a ‘B’ grade on all other statistical fronts, including inflation data, external-sector statistics, and monetary and financial statistics. “So, the median rate we have got is B,” she said, noting this is in line with countries such as China and Brazil.

The IMF grades national accounts across A, B, C and D categories. While an ‘A’ rating indicates data adequate for surveillance, a ‘B’ means the data is broadly adequate despite some shortcomings. A ‘C’ suggests shortcomings that could somewhat hamper surveillance, and a ‘D’ signals serious issues that impede surveillance.

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