GS Paper III — Q1
Explain the difference between computing methodology of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) before the year 2015 and after the…
Explain the difference between computing methodology of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) before the year 2015 and after the year 2015. (Answer in 150 words)
हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें
भारत की सकल घरेलु उत्पाद (जी.डी.पी.) के वर्ष 2015 के पूर्व तथा वर्ष 2015 के पश्चात् परिकलन विधि में अंतर की व्याख्या कीजिए । (150 शब्दों में उत्तर दीजिए)
Model answer
Drafted with AI by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 150-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key. How we build rubrics and answers.
(a) Before 2015 (base 2004-05): The headline measure was GDP at factor cost. The corporate sector was estimated from RBI sample studies, and the unorganised sector from NSSO enterprise surveys.
(b) After 2015 (base 2011-12): The headline became GDP at market prices, computed as GVA at basic prices plus product taxes minus product subsidies, which shows their net effect explicitly. The corporate sector now uses MCA-21 company filings, covering a much larger set of firms, while the ASI remains the key manufacturing source. The unorganised sector uses an 'effective labour input' method, and coverage of financial and informal activity was widened. Deflators were refined, with CPI used instead of WPI for some sectors.
(c) Consequences: The new series captured previously undercounted activity and aligned better with UN SNA 2008, but it made level comparisons with the old series difficult. A further revision in February 2026 moved the base year to 2022-23 and drew on GST and other administrative data.
How this answer will be evaluated
Framework: Economy: carry live data, draw the simple diagram
What earns full marks: Clearly distinguishes the old and new base years and explains the methodological changes.
Key points expected
- Identify 2004-05 as the old base year
- Identify 2011-12 as the new base year
- Mention the shift to value added at basic prices
- Note the change in the reference year for deflators
Evaluation rubric
Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.
- The answer Contrast the GDP calculation methodology before and after 2015. 10 marks · 150 words
explain— definition/context → points in order → small example → short close
Must cover
- Base year moved from 2004-05 to 2011-12 (new series released January 2015)
- Headline GDP now at market prices; GVA at basic prices replaces GDP at factor cost
- Wider and newer data: MCA-21 corporate database, NSSO 2011-12 surveys, fuller financial-sector coverage
- What the change did to the growth numbers and to comparability with the old series
Loses marks
- Confusing the old and new base years
- Treating the revision as only a price-index change
- Ignoring the factor-cost to basic-price shift
Earns more
- Sector effects, e.g. manufacturing share revised upward
- Deflator choice and the WPI-versus-CPI debate
- Alignment with UN SNA 2008; role of CSO/NSO and the back-series controversy
Extra mark
- Mention the change in the reference year for deflators
- Mention the February 2026 revision to base year 2022-23
What "Explain" is asking you to do
Make the working of something clear — what sets it off, what follows from what, and what it produces. Explain is the Commission's mechanism word: it dominates the technical papers and the “explain why” stems, where the marks sit in the causal chain and not in the label.
Structure that answers it
State what it is → the initiating condition → the chain of cause, step by step → an instance where it plays out → what the chain produces
Where marks are lost
Describing what something looks like instead of why it works that way. Naming the stages without linking them reads as description too.
Practice this exact question
Write your answer and it is marked point by point against the model answer above — what you covered, what you missed, what you got wrong.
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