Page 3 - Himanshi Bhardwaj

Hospitality leads as MoSPI unveils India's first services production index

India's first trial Index of Services Production covers 19 sectors accounting for nearly 60 per cent of services output, with accommodation and food services leading April growth

Costlier basket: WPI inflation hits a series-high at 9.9% in June

Wholesale inflation rose to a fresh record in June as food and primary article prices accelerated, outweighing a moderation in fuel and power inflation

India's retail inflation breaches RBI target to hit 4.38% in June

Fuel costs lift food prices; experts don't expect rate hike

A new index at the factory gate: Why India's PPI matters beyond inflation

After more than two decades in the making, India's Producer Price Index is beginning to reshape industrial output, GDP measurement and the country's broader statistical framework

16th FC breaks with precedent, leaves out statewise GSDP projections

Unlike its three predecessors, the Sixteenth Finance Commission has not published state-wise GSDP projections for 2026-31, citing the absence of revenue deficit grants

Women-owned businesses employ more women: ASUSE 2025 data released by NSO

NSO's ASUSE 2025 shows cities with more women-owned informal businesses also have higher female employment, with manufacturing and services driving greater participation

Statistics ministry expert panel seeks uniform energy data standards

The panel has recommended common end-use categories, conversion factors and product classifications to harmonise India's energy statistics and improve policy analysis

GDP calculations get new yardstick with PPI deflator from June quarter

The move follows the latest IIP data set, which marked the shift from the WPI to the output PPI as the deflator for item groups where the output is collected in value terms

India's unemployment rate hit 8-year low in 2025, shows NSO data

But urban female joblessness rose sharply in several states

NITI seeks visa-on-arrival, end to state entry taxes to boost tourism

Policy think tank says regulatory hurdles, not demand, are holding back tourism; proposes easier visas, GST refunds for foreign tourists and seamless interstate travel

Mospi pushes harmonised data ecosystem to power citizen-centric governance

Statistics Secretary Saurabh Garg says harmonising administrative data across departments will improve interoperability, AI-driven analytics and evidence-based policymaking

AI can turn data blind spots into false certainty, says P K Mishra

P K Mishra warns AI can reinforce data biases in official statistics, urging stronger safeguards, transparency, and institutional independence in data governance

India's industrial output growth hits five-month high of 5.1% in May

Industrial output growth rose to 5.1 per cent in May as electricity generation strengthened and the government adopted Output-PPI for the new IIP series

A ChatGPT for Indian statistics? Mospi lays AI groundwork with new platform

The govt is building a common data platform to unify official economic statistics, with plans to develop it into an AI model that can answer queries using trusted official data

20 states utilised just 5.86% of combined budgeted capex in April-May

Twenty states utilised 5.86 per cent of their FY27 capex budgets in April-May, below the year-ago pace, though spending recovered in May after a sluggish April

Welfare bills, rising commitments drag 4 states from surplus to deficit

Karnataka, Telangana, Chhattisgarh, and Bihar saw revenue balances weaken between FY23 and FY25 as spending outpaced receipts: CAG

Mospi proposes framework to assign monetary value to India's coal reserves

The ministry has recommended the OECD methodology for valuing coal reserves, saying it could strengthen natural capital accounting and support evidence-based policymaking

Mospi to launch India's first monthly services output index on July 14

The new monthly indicator will track short-term changes in services-sector output and serve as the counterpart to the Index of Industrial Production

A difficult year: El Niño concerns trigger earnings risk for India Inc

India's southwest monsoon from June 1 to June 23 has been almost 43% below normal, among its worst performances in the last several years

NITI Aayog proposes 'model pharma chapter' for future FTA negotiations

Think tank flags non-tariff barriers as a bigger hurdle than duties for $35.8 bn drug exports