NEW DELHI: India’s official statistical mechanism is set to improve its estimates of district domestic product (DDP), with more granular data available in the new GDP series, Statistics Minister Saurabh Garg told TOI.“We have focused more on getting more detailed data in this series, so that the state’s local products are captured more effectively. We are also moving towards better estimates of the region’s local products, which we hope to work with the state government in the coming months,” Garg said.At present, the DDP is estimated by relying on top-down allocation methods, distributing a state’s GDP proportionally to regions based on demographic indicators such as population.
This results in “near-identical” growth rates across regions, masking real disparities between regions, a large informal sector and local shocks to the economy.Accurate DDP estimates can enable targeted policy interventions through identification of lagging regions and better assessment of regional inequality and employment trends. The responsibility for calculating the DDP rests with the Directorates of Economics and Statistics (DES) of the respective state governments, under the technical direction of the National Statistical Office (NSO).
“We want to do it in collaboration with the states because that is where the real policy decisions are, and they have also shown great enthusiasm for it. We will continue to publish GDP numbers at the national and state levels, but we are also working with the states to replace the top-down allocation-based approach with a bottom-up approach,” Garg said.The availability and integration of new data sources such as the Annual Survey of Single Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) covering the broad informal manufacturing and services sector and the Periodic Labor Force Survey (PLFS) in the new GDP series will better capture data on the work side and activities of all households and micro, micro and small enterprises representing key enterprises at the district level.
