Data is India's next political battleground to target voters in 2019 polls

Much of the criticism of government's last data revision rests on the fact that India economy's suddenly appeared to be booming, and economists found it difficult to compare data over longer periods

India’s planning to revise its data for key economic indicators again. And it has left economists shaking their heads.

Over the last few years, multiple changes to how India uses and calculates crucial data - from economic growth and inflation to jobs and taxes - has sparked a debate on the credibility of government data once hailed for its rigour. 

On Feb. 15 the government said it would again change the base year to 2017-18 to reflect changes in the economy, even as data scientists are awaiting comparable data for the 2015 GDP methodology revisions. That change, designed to capture