{
  "id": 8020939,
  "title": "Surjit Bhalla writes: Release 2017-18 consumption data, put all doubt to rest",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/surjit-bhalla-writes-release-2017-18-consumption-data-put-all-doubt",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-17T12:23:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Indian Express",
    "slug": "the-indian-express",
    "url": "https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/surjit-bhalla-release-2017-18-consumption-data-put-doubt-to-rest-10882425/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Surjit Bhalla has called for the release of 2017-18 consumption data to dispel doubts surrounding the accuracy of Indian GDP figures. He suggests separating commentary on Indian data into national accounts data and other data, expressing a preference for accuracy over precision. Bhalla has long advocated for a household income distribution survey, a task never undertaken by Indian statisticians. Despite being pioneers in world statistical surveys, India has not released unit-level consumption data, despite criticism and censorship since 2014. Bhalla argues that releasing the data would clarify the extent of the issue and remove political doubt over Indian data's credibility.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [
    "Surjit Bhalla demands release of 2017-18 consumption data",
    "Data separation into national accounts and other data proposed",
    "Bhalla advocates for household income distribution survey"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}