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Base Year
A base year is the reference point for an index or series. Price indices compare today’s prices with base-year prices, and GDP uses base-year prices and weights. Base years are updated periodically so the numbers reflect how the economy actually looks today.
Why It Matters
An old base year can make statistics describe a country that no longer exists.
In India
In 2026 India moved its CPI to a 2024 base and its GDP series to a 2022-23 base, replacing bases from more than a decade earlier.
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