India's Q3 FY26 GDP Data Release: A New Era in Economic Measurement

Upcoming Release of GDP Data

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is scheduled to unveil India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures for the third quarter (Q3) of the Financial Year 2025-26 (FY26) today, February 27, 2026, at 4:00 PM. This will mark the inaugural release of GDP data under a newly revised series, with the base year updated to 2022-23, replacing the previous base year of 2011-12.

This updated GDP series aims to offer a more detailed understanding of India's economic landscape and may reveal that India has surpassed Japan, positioning itself as the fourth-largest economy globally for the first time.

According to current projections, India's economy is anticipated to grow by 7.4 percent in FY26. The nominal GDP, reflecting economic output at current market prices, is expected to rise by 8.0 percent, as reported by a leading news outlet.

The new GDP series will utilize data from various sources, including the goods and services tax network and the e-Vahan database, along with household services provided by domestic workers, to enhance the precision of economic assessments. It has been suggested that to achieve the vision of a developed India by 2047, a notable increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio will be essential, primarily through improved tax compliance, as most significant reforms have already been enacted.

In light of India's extensive bilateral trade agreements with major economies, the medium-term economic outlook appears promising. D K Srivastava, Chief Policy Advisor at EY India, indicated that real GDP growth is projected to fall between 6.8 and 7.2 percent for FY27.

The periodic revision of the GDP base year is crucial for reflecting the structural changes within the economy. MoSPI generally updates the GDP data series every five years; however, this update was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of the goods and services tax.