FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 BRIEFLY Jaishankar to visit Ukraine, Poland from 3 September: New Delhi: Amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will undertake an official visit to Ukraine and Poland from 3 to 5 September, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Wednesday. During his visit, he will hold consultations with his counterparts ~ Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. Mr Jaishankar’s visit to war-ravaged Ukraine is significant. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his meeting with President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO Summit earlier this week, had called for an end the conflict in Ukraine, stating that the world must move from endless war to an end to war. | Pages 14 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA LC | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | Air Marshal Mishra named as Ram Temple Trust CEO Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra Mahesh Bhagchandka Madan Mohan Pandey Nirmala Yadav MANOJ BHADRA the new General Secretary while Mahesh Bhagchandka from Delhi, Madan Mohan Pandey from Ayodhya, and Nirmala Yadav from Shikohabad, will be the new members of the Trust. Mr Bhagchandka will also be its new Treasurer. These decisions were taken unanimously at a Trust meeting chaired by Mahant Nritya Gopal Das at the Mani Ram Das Chavni in Ayodhya in the presence of key Trust officials and invited members while some attended the meeting virtually. The appointment of the CEO, along with other key changes in the Trust, was made in the wake of the detection of the theft of offerings at the Ram Temple in the last week of June, leading to the resignation of General Secretary Champat Rai and Trustee Dr Anil Mishra. Later, eight workers were arrested by the police for stealing the offerings with the Supreme Court now monitoring the SIT probe. Krishna Mohan, acting general secretary of the Ram Temple Trust, said 16 people were interviewed for the post of CEO. The three names shortlisted were Air Marshal Jeetendra Mishra, Major General Sanjay Pratap Singh, and Shruti Bhardwaj. Ultimately, the IAF veteran’s name was finalised for the position. Additionally, Govind Dev Giri, the treasurer of the Ram Temple Trust, has been appointed new general secretary. Ayodhya, 2 September A ir Marshal Jeetendra Mishra (retired), who headed the IAF’s Western Air Command during Operation Sindoor, was on Wednesday appointed the first full-time Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust that oversees the temple in Ayodhya. Govind Dev Giri will be • Profiles: Page 11 SILIGURI | Thursday, 03 September 2026 Revised base year behind change in numbers, says government, rejects GDP data criticism STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 2 September The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Wednesday defended India’s latest GDP estimates, rejecting allegations that the government had revised down the previous year’s GDP figure to make the latest growth numbers appear stronger. The ministry issued a six-point clarification amid questions over the GDP data released on Monday, which has triggered a debate among economists, political circles and social media users. Earlier, former Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg had questioned the figures, arguing that nominal GDP growth for the April-June quarter should have been around 2.6 per cent, with real growth “close to 0”. He had alleged that the nominal GDP estimate for April-June 2025 was lowered from around Rs 86 lakh crore to Rs 80 lakh crore, thus boosting the reported growth rate for the corresponding quarter of 2026. Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, Dr. Saurabh Garg, speaks to the media on the release of the GDP Quarterly Estimates on Monday, 31 August. IANS The ministry, without naming Mr Garg, rejected the claim and explained that the two figures belonged to different GDP series and, therefore, could not be directly compared. The Rs 86.05 lakh crore figure cited in the criticism was calculated under the earlier GDP series, which used 2011-12 as the base year. India introduced a new GDP series with 2022-23 as the base year in February 2026, incorporating additional data sources and changes to the methodology used to estimate economic activity. Under the new series, nominal GDP for April-June 2025 was initially estimated at Rs 80.32 lakh crore. The estimate was subsequently revised slightly higher to Rs 80.44 lakh crore in June 2026, based on additional data. The ministry said the apparent difference between the earlier Rs 86.05 lakh crore figure and the roughly Rs 80 lakh crore figure used in the latest calculation was, therefore, a consequence of the transition to the new series, methodological changes and successive revisions, rather than an attempt to artificially boost the latest growth rate. According to the latest estimates, India’s nominal GDP stood at Rs 88.27 lakh crore in April-June 2026. Compared with the comparable year-ago estimate of Rs 80 lakh crore under the new series, this represents a 10.3 per cent increase in nominal GDP.