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‘They Cannot Digest 7.8% Growth’: Piyush Goyal Slams GDP Critics
Sagarika Chakraborty | September 2, 2026 10:41 PM CST

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday hit out at Opposition leaders and former officials questioning India's 7.8% GDP growth for the April-June 2026 quarter, defending the government’s data and accusing critics of comparing figures from different GDP series.

Speaking at the annual session of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) in Delhi, Goyal said some Opposition leaders and former officials were attempting to mislead people by comparing growth figures based on the old GDP series with those calculated under the new series.

“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 to 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,” Goyal said.

Goyal Calls GDP Critics ‘Jobless’

Taking a swipe at those questioning the growth numbers and raising concerns over employment, Goyal said critics were unable to accept India's growth performance.

“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,” he said.

Goyal also defended the credibility of the government's GDP data.

“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,” he said.

‘No Other Country Has Replicated’ 7.8% Growth: Goyal

Goyal described the 7.8% growth rate as unprecedented and credited the country's 140 crore people as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

“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...A few jobless people call themselves economists and appear on TV channels to harm the country. Do not fall for this...A few Opposition leaders who want to see India as 'a dead economy' will fail once again, just like they have failed again and again. India will continue to grow rapidly under the leadership of PM Modi,” Goyal said.

The reference to a “dead economy” came after US President Donald Trump described India as a “dead economy” in 2025 while criticising its trade barriers and energy trade with Russia. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had backed the characterisation.

Raghuram Rajan Questions Growth Numbers

The minister's remarks came after former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan and former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg publicly questioned the GDP data.

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?”

Garg, who served as finance secretary from March to July 2019 before taking voluntary retirement, told NDTV that the headline growth figure was based 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.”

Jairam Ramesh Calls GDP Figures ‘Greatly Distorted Picture’

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also criticised the government's GDP figures.

On Monday, Ramesh described the numbers as a “GDP, Greatly Distorted Picture, of the economy”.

In a post on X, he said, “The Modi government must understand: PR can polish the picture of GDP, but not the economy itself.”

Ministry Rebuts Claims Over GDP Base Year

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the first-quarter GDP data on Monday, showing 7.8% growth, above the Reserve Bank of India's 7% forecast. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the figure as a “herculean feat”.

On Wednesday, the ministry issued a six-point rebuttal without naming Garg. It said the Rs 86.05 lakh crore figure referred 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.

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