The government, however, claimed that the presence of ghost companies in the government database has no impact on economic data and a recent study was undertaken to understand the data gaps and take remedial steps. The Mint report was based on a survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), a government agency. An erosion of credibility in economic data released by the government, which comes at a time when economists have raised concerns about the politicization of economic and job data, could undermine investor confidence in India. The NSSO frame was of active companies and it was known that some were shell firms. But not including them in GDP calculations would amount to not capturing all transactions in the economy.

Source: Mint May 08, 2019 19:30 UTC