New Delhi

The revision of base years for key economic indicators such as GDP, Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is expected to significantly improve the quality and usability of data for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning applications, Secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) Saurabh Garg said on Friday.

While speaking with ANI, Garg said these indicators are critical inputs for institutions that project future economic growth, while the government continues to publish actual growth rates for current and past years.

"It is extremely important to update base years because the structure of the economy changes over time, new data sources become available, and methodologies of data collection also evolve," he said.

"The rapid digitalisation of the economy has significantly altered economic structures, particularly with the expansion of digital sectors. The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the availability of new digital data sources have further transformed the statistical landscape," he noted.

Garg said the base year revision will enable policymakers and decision-makers to rely on more accurate and contemporary data. "This updation gives a much more correct and robust picture of the economy, which can then be used effectively by policymakers going forward," he said.

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Garg also underscored the growing importance of updated and harmonised data in the context of artificial intelligence and machine learning. "For AI and ML, data is the key raw material. It is therefore essential that data is harmonised so that it can be effectively used by AI systems," he said.

Internally, MoSPI is already using artificial intelligence to improve the accuracy of data enumeration and to speed up decision-making processes, Garg added.