What does the NSS data imply for GDP estimates?

What can we learn from the latest survey? Before we answer this question, we need to recognise the limitations of comparing NSS figures with the ones from the NIA

Just as Judas betrayed Jesus, it may well be the case that the new National Sample Survey (NSS) consumption data betrays the measurement problems in the National Income Accounts (NIA). Consider how.

Recently, there has been considerable discussion of the wide gap in the NIA between private consumption and gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the past few quarters. According to the NIA, the former is weak even as GDP growth is strong. Some people have seen this as a goo­d sign, indicating that India’s growth is at long last being fuelled by investment, rather than consumption. Other people, such as