The controversy surrounding India’s GDP figures primarily stems from changes made to the base year and the methodology used to calculate economic growth in 2015. Critics, including various independent economists, have argued that the new series does not align with other economic indicators, such as credit growth, corporate earnings, and industrial production. They contend that the revised figures may overestimate the actual pace of economic expansion.

Conversely, the Indian government and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) maintain that the updated methodology is in line with international standards, specifically the System of National Accounts (SNA) 2008. Officials argue that the shift to a more comprehensive database, which includes more granular information from the corporate sector, provides a more accurate picture of the modern Indian economy than the previous, more limited datasets.

Points of contention often arise when comparing India’s growth rates with historical data or peer economies. While the government asserts that the transition was a necessary modernization of statistical infrastructure, skeptics point to the lack of transparency in the back-series data—the process of recalculating past growth rates using the new methodology. This has led to a persistent gap in trust between official statistical bodies and a segment of the academic and financial community, who continue to call for greater access to raw data to verify the government's findings.