RBI think tank wants independent body to verify official economic data

The view of the think tank comes almost two weeks after the government pegged budget deficit target at 3.4% of gross domestic product for the current fiscal year ending in March as well as the next

An Indian think tank founded by the central bank wants the government to form an independent body to vet official data after questions were raised about the credibility of the nation’s statistics.

Some of the assumptions for economic growth and deficits made in the interim budget “are subject to much debate,” Amartya Lahiri, director at the Mumbai-based Centre for Advanced Financial Research and Learning, or CAFRAL, said in an interview. “We have an unhappy situation where markets, agencies, and foreign investors are all making their own assumptions.”

The view of the think tank, set up by the Reserve Bank of India, comes