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SBI Rejects Claims Of India’s GDP At 2.6%, Calls It Sign Of ‘Intellectual Dishonesty’

Sanjeev Kumar | September 3, 2026 8:22 PM CST

The State Bank of India (SBI) in its report has rejected claims that India’s nominal GDP growth in the first quarter of FY27 was only 2.6%. It said the figure came from comparing two different versions of the GDP data.

It said the 2.6% figure does not represent a valid comparison, rather it is completely unsolicited and a sure sign of intellectual dishonesty.

The 2.6% growth figure comes from comparing the latest Rs 88.3 lakh crore estimate with the older Rs 86.1 lakh crore figure for Q1 FY26, instead of using the revised number.

“Some estimates are now ascribing a 2.6% growth in nominal GDP for the latest quarter instead of 10.3%, by calculating yearly growth rate using Rs 88.3 lakh crore (we call it A series in the adjacent table) over Rs 86.1 lakh crore (we call it C series). This is completely unsolicited and a sure sign of intellectual dishonesty,” SBI report said.

The latest Q1 FY27 figure should instead be compared with the revised Q1 FY26 figure under the new GDP series. That calculation gives nominal GDP growth of 9.7%.

SBI in its report laid out an alternative comparison for those wanting to use the previous, unrevised Q1 GDP base, and said the Rs 88.3 lakh crore Q1 FY27 figure should be compared with Rs 80.4 lakh crore under the new base, rather than the old Rs 86.1 lakh crore estimate.

“If anyone truly wants to compare current nominal GDP numbers over the previous unrevised base of Q1 GDP, then Rs 88.3 lakh crore (new base, A series) should be estimated over Rs 80.4 lakh crore (new base, B series), which comes out to 9.7% growth (as against 10.3%),” the report said.

Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan questioned the GDP data released by the government saying why is India not able to generate enough jobs for youngsters if the economy is growing at such a fast pace.

Earlier, former Finance Secretary had also questioned the GDP numbers. In a media interview, he questioned whether the 7.8% figure accurately reflects the pace of economic activity, arguing that the revised comparison base makes the headline growth rate difficult to assess.