Glossary
25 terms you'll meet in India's official statistics, in plain words, with the figures they apply to.
- Advance, provisional and revised estimates
The stages of an annual GDP figure: a first advance estimate in January, a second advance estimate around the end of February, the provisional estimate around the end of May, then revised estimates in later years as fuller data arrive. Always say which estimate you cite.
Used in: real GDP growth
- Base year
The reference year a series is built on: its prices for GDP, or the year set to 100 for a price or production index. When a series is rebased, its whole history is recomputed, so figures from different base years are not comparable. GDP, IIP and WPI now use 2022-23; CPI uses 2024.
Used in: real GDP growthquarterly real GDP growthindustrial production (IIP) growthwholesale (WPI) inflationretail (CPI) inflation
- Budget estimate, revised estimate and actuals
The Budget estimate (BE) is the figure in the Budget for the coming year; the revised estimate (RE) updates it a year later; the actuals are the final accounts, published in the Budget two years after the year began.
Used in: the Union fiscal deficit
- Constant prices (real) and current prices (nominal)
Constant-price figures value output at base-year prices, so their growth measures volume. Current-price figures include changes in prices. "Real GDP growth" is growth at constant prices.
Used in: real GDP growthquarterly real GDP growthmanufacturing growth (real GVA)farm-sector growth (real GVA)
- CPI (Consumer Price Index)
Prices of a fixed basket of goods and services bought by households, compiled monthly by MoSPI for rural, urban and combined India. Its year-on-year change is "retail inflation", the measure the RBI's inflation target is set on.
Used in: retail (CPI) inflation
- CWS (Current Weekly Status)
A person's activity over the 7 days before the survey. Someone who worked for at least one hour on any of those days counts as employed. Monthly and quarterly PLFS figures use CWS; annual figures usually use "usual status" over the past year, so the two don't compare directly.
Used in: unemployment rateyouth (15–29) unemployment ratefemale labour force participation ratethe urban unemployment rate
- Double deflation
Deflating a sector's output and its inputs separately, each with its own price index, and subtracting to get real value added. The 2022-23 GDP series uses it for manufacturing. When input prices rise faster than output prices, real growth can exceed nominal growth.
Used in: manufacturing growth (real GVA)
- Fiscal deficit
The gap between the Union government's total expenditure and its total receipts other than borrowings. It is what the government has to borrow in the year, usually shown as a share of GDP.
Used in: the Union fiscal deficit
- Forest cover
As measured by the Forest Survey of India: all land of more than one hectare with a tree canopy density above 10%, whatever its ownership or legal status. It differs from recorded forest area, the land legally classified as forest.
Used in: forest cover
- GDP (Gross Domestic Product)
The value of all final goods and services produced within India in a period. It equals gross value added at basic prices plus taxes on products, minus subsidies on products.
- GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio), higher education
Total enrolment in higher education, students of any age, as a share of the population aged 18 to 23. Because older students count too, it is not the share of young people who are enrolled.
- GODL-India
The Government Open Data License – India. It lets anyone use, share and adapt government data, including commercially, as long as the source is credited.
- GVA (Gross Value Added)
An industry's output minus the goods and services it uses up in producing it (intermediate consumption). It measures what each sector adds to the economy; summed across sectors and adjusted for product taxes and subsidies, it gives GDP.
Used in: manufacturing growth (real GVA)farm-sector growth (real GVA)
- IIP (Index of Industrial Production)
A monthly index of the volume of output in mining, manufacturing, electricity and gas, and water supply and waste management, compiled by MoSPI. Its growth rate is the year-on-year change in the index.
Used in: industrial production (IIP) growth
- Implicit deflator
The ratio of current-price to constant-price GDP or GVA. Its change is a broad measure of price movement across the whole economy or a sector, covering services as well as goods.
Used in: quarterly real GDP growthmanufacturing growth (real GVA)farm-sector growth (real GVA)
- LFPR (Labour Force Participation Rate)
The share of the population (here, people aged 15 and above) who are in the labour force: working, or seeking or available for work.
- Percentage point
The plain difference between two percentages. Inflation rising from 4% to 5% is a rise of 1 percentage point, which is a 25 per cent increase in the rate.
- PLFS (Periodic Labour Force Survey)
MoSPI's main survey of employment. It was redesigned in January 2025 to give monthly and quarterly estimates for rural and urban India, so figures on the new design are not comparable with earlier PLFS results.
Used in: unemployment rateyouth (15–29) unemployment ratefemale labour force participation ratethe urban unemployment rate
- Provisional and final figures
Many monthly figures are first published as provisional and replaced by a final figure once late returns arrive: CPI a month later, WPI two months later. The revision history on each page shows both.
- Quarters of the financial year (Q1 to Q4)
India's financial year runs from April to March. Q1 is April to June, Q2 July to September, Q3 October to December and Q4 January to March. "Q1 2026-27" means April to June 2026.
Used in: quarterly real GDP growthmanufacturing growth (real GVA)farm-sector growth (real GVA)
- Quick estimate
The first IIP figure for a month, released about four weeks after the month ends. It is revised in later releases as more factories report, so cite it as a quick estimate.
Used in: industrial production (IIP) growth
- Unemployment rate
Unemployed people as a share of the labour force (those working or looking for work), not of the whole population.
Used in: unemployment rateyouth (15–29) unemployment ratethe urban unemployment rate
- WPI (Wholesale Price Index)
Prices of goods (not services) traded in bulk, compiled monthly by the Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT. In the 2022-23 series prices are taken at basic price, excluding taxes and trade and transport margins. Its year-on-year change is "wholesale inflation".
Used in: wholesale (WPI) inflation
- WPR (Worker Population Ratio)
The share of the population who are employed. Unlike the unemployment rate, it is measured against everyone, not just the labour force.
- Year on year
Compared with the same period a year earlier. Monthly inflation and quarterly growth figures are year-on-year rates, so seasonal patterns cancel out.
Used in: retail (CPI) inflationwholesale (WPI) inflationindustrial production (IIP) growthquarterly real GDP growth
No term matches that.