India's economy is projected to grow faster at 7.4 percent in this financial year, which ends March 30, under a new method to calculate the country's national income, official data showed Monday. The new way of figuring growth puts India's economic expansion at the same as China's. Its economy also grew 7.4 per cent in 2014, dpa reported. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government recently said it would start measuring gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices instead of factory costs. It also changed the base year used to calculate GDP from 2004-05 to 2011-2012. Under the new method, third-quarter growth was 7.5 per cent, according to figures released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The new formula has puzzled economists, but government officials defended the method, saying it is a better way to track the Indian economy. They also said the new method incorporates international guidelines, thus reducing the gap between the way India calculates GDP and the methodology used by the International Monetary Fund. In the announcement on using the new method that was made in January, the government sharply revised India's GDP growth in the past financial year to 6.9 per cent from 4.7 per cent. The central bank, the Reserve Bank of India, used the old formula in projecting growth of 5.5 per cent this financial year. -- SPA 16:55 LOCAL TIME 13:55 GMT تغريد
