Faith in errors

The goof-up in industrial output numbers and other official data in the recent past have made some government officials hopeful about the prospects for the economy. The index of industrial production (IIP) for March declined 3.5 per cent, but indirect tax collections grew over 10 per cent in March and April. Asked why the data for IIP and tax collections were diverging, an official said if the IIP for January could be revised downward from 6.8 per cent to 1.14 per cent, it was possible to hope for an upward revision in the future, too.