India Economy Data Changes Boost Growth Rate Before Modi Budget

India changed its method for measuring the economy to capture taxes and the informal sector, resulting in a higher growth rate even as the overall value of goods and services shrank slightly.

The government now will calculate growth based on 2011-12 market prices rather than the previous method of using 2004-05 factor costs. That means Asia’s third-largest economy grew 6.9 percent in the year through March 2014 instead of the previously reported 4.7 percent, while gross domestic product contracted to