Is India's 7.8% GDP growth too good to be true?

India's economy grew by 7.8% in the first quarter of 2026-27, despite global uncertainties including Trump's tariffs, the Iran-US conflict and rising costs. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the growth rate "exemplary", but economists have raised questions about how the number was calculated.

Did India's new GDP series make growth look unusually high? Is the 2.5% GDP deflator understating inflation? And if the economy is growing this fast, where are the jobs?

In this episode of Onmanorama Explains, we break down India's new GDP calculation, the shift in the base year from 2011-12 to 2022-23, the GDP deflator debate and the question of jobless growth.

Producer: Haritha Sharly Benjamin
Research: Ayyappan R