RAS question
This is India's which base year update for GDP, moving from 2011-12 to 2022-23?
Correct answer: (C) 8th.
India's shift of the GDP base year from 2011-12 to 2022-23 is its eighth GDP base-year update.
Explanation
The answer is the 8th update because the new series replaces the 2011-12 base year with 2022-23, after the previous revision had moved the base from 2004-05 to 2011-12 in January 2015. MoSPI says base-year revision is a periodic exercise, distinct from routine annual revisions, because it can capture structural changes in the economy, incorporate latest data sources, improve estimation methods, and enhance coverage and accuracy. That is why the 2022-23 series is not just a date change: it brings the GDP benchmark closer to the present economy, including digitalisation, enterprise formalisation, and changed consumption patterns reflected through newer data and methods.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 6th is too early in the revision sequence; it does not account for the later 2011-12 and 2022-23 base-year updates.
- (B) 7th matches the earlier move to the 2011-12 series, not the current move from 2011-12 to 2022-23.
- (D) 9th overcounts the sequence; the cited move to 2022-23 is identified as the eighth update, not a further revision beyond it.
Concept
This tests national income accounting, especially how GDP base-year revisions update the benchmark used for constant-price estimates. It recurs in RAS because base-year changes alter how aspirants read GDP growth, sectoral shares, consumption, savings, and capital formation data.