Congress vows to 'clean up' economic data collection if it wins election

The Modi government has acknowledged that there are deficiencies in its data collection, but adds there has been no impact on GDP estimates

The Congress party will review how economic data is collected and interpreted if it wins the Lok Sabha elections this month, a senior party official said, amid doubts over the reliability of official data.

Economists and investors are increasingly showing that they have little or no confidence in India’s official economic data – presenting whoever is elected as the next prime minister with an immediate problem.

P Chidambaram, a former finance minister, said that a Congress government at the Centre would tackle the deficiencies in data collection.

“We would have to set up a high-powered committee. First, to look at