New Delhi: The government has initiated the process to change the base year to 2011-12 for computing the country's gross domestic product (GDP) to better capture the changes in economy.

At present, the base year for calculating the GDP is 2004-05. The Ministry of statistics had changed the base to 2004-05 from 1993-94 in 2006.

"We have undertaken the process of revising base year for calculating the GDP. With the passage of time new products are manufactured and new data is added," Chief Statistician T C A Anant told PTI.

He clarified however that the methodology as such for computing the GDP can't be changed.

As per the practise, the government periodically revises the base year for computing the GDP to capture the changes taking place in the economy, especially the manufacturing sector.

Although Anant did not commit on the timeframe for changing the base year for computing GDP, indications are that it would be sometime soon.

For examining the performance of the economy in real terms through the macro economic aggregates like GDP, national income, consumption expenditure and capital formation, estimates they are prepared at the prices of selected year, known as base year.

The base year of the national accounts is changed periodically to take into account the structural changes which take place in the economy and to depict a true picture of the economy through macro aggregates.

The first official estimates of national income were prepared by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) with base year 1948-49 for the estimates at constant prices.

These estimates at constant (1948-49) prices alongwith the corresponding estimates at current prices and the accounts of the Public Authorities were published in the publication, "Estimates of National Income" in 1956.

With the gradual improvement in the availability of basic data over the years, a comprehensive review of methodology for national accounts statistics has constantly been undertaken with a view to updating the data base and shifting the base year to a more recent year.

The base years of the National Accounts Statistics series have been shifted from 1948-49 to 1960-61 in August 1967; from 1960-61 to 1970-71 in January 1978; from 1970-71 to 1980-81 in February 1988; and from 1980-81 to 1993-94 in February 1999. Thereafter it was changed to 2004-05 in 2006.