New Delhi:
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday hit out at Opposition leaders and former officials questioning India’s 7.8% GDP growth figure for the April-June 2026 quarter, accusing them of comparing an old data series with a new one and describing them as “the only jobless people left”.
Speaking at the annual session of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) in Delhi, Goyal said, “I see on TV some of the Opposition leaders, even possibly a former finance secretary or a former RBI (Reserve Bank of India) governor, both of whom could not complete their tenure in India… They don’t even know [that they should] compare apples with apples. They are trying to misguide the people of India, comparing growth rate [based on an] old series with a new series where the base year itself has changed.”
Both men Goyal alluded to have been publicly critical of the data this week.
#WATCH | Delhi: On Opposition leaders’ take on GDP growth numbers, Union Minister Piyush Goyal says, “Truth cannot be hidden…Ministers do not manufacture this data…When you have such a negative mindset, in a way, you are diminishing yourself. When you attempt to demotivate… pic.twitter.com/x3zw7MGVAZ
— ANI (@ANI) September 2, 2026
Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan told news agency PTI: “Are these growth numbers real? Even the larger economy is in doubt if the growth numbers aren’t real. There are some discrepancies which one has to worry about.” He added: “If we’re growing so fast, why aren’t we creating more jobs, more good jobs? And why is investment not taking place?”
Subhash Chandra Garg, who was finance secretary from March to July 2019 and later took voluntary retirement, told NDTV the headline figure rested on a revised base. “The 7.8 per cent looks impressive on the face of it, but we should get into the reality of it,” Garg said. “The current-prices GDP last year was Rs 86 trillion. This has been revised down to Rs 80 trillion… If you had not revised last year’s GDP, the growth in current prices would have been only 2.6 per cent.”
Minister Goyal responded on the employment question too, “They are trying to find holes, asking, where are the jobs? They cannot digest that they themselves are the only jobless people left. The only possible job left [for them] is to get on a TV panel and try and concoct and manufacture an argument.”
Defending the data, the minister said: “Truth cannot be hidden… Ministers do not manufacture this data… When you have such a negative mindset, in a way, you are diminishing yourself. When you attempt to demotivate people by distorting the truth, you betray the people.”
Goyal said the growth rate was without parallel and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Record growth of 7.8% is something that no other country has been able to replicate. This is the capability, hard work, and joint effort of 140 crore people in the country. Due to this, India has emerged as a global trusted partner. PM Modi has led the country with farsightedness,” he said, adding, “A few jobless people call themselves economists and appear on TV channels to harm the country. Do not fall for this.”
The BJP leader also attacked Opposition leaders “who want to see India as ‘a dead economy'”. He said, “They will fail once again, just like they have failed again and again. India will continue to grow rapidly under the leadership of PM Modi.” US President Donald Trump described India as a “dead economy” in 2025 while criticising its trade barriers and its energy trade with Russia – a characterisation Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had backed.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on Monday that the figures presented a “GDP, Greatly Distorted Picture, of the economy”. He also said in a post on X, “The Modi government must understand: PR can polish the picture of GDP, but not the economy itself.”
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the first-quarter data on Monday, putting growth at 7.8%, above the Reserve Bank of India’s 7% forecast. The PM called the figure a “herculean feat”.
The ministry on Wednesday issued a six-point rebuttal without naming Garg, saying the Rs 86.05 lakh crore figure belonged to the old 2011-12 base-year series and could not be compared with the new 2022-23 series. “It is therefore incorrect to interpret the difference as a deliberate downward revision of last year’s GDP to mechanically increase the current year’s growth rate,” the ministry said.
