2025 SNA - Challenges for the Indian system of national accounts

In the backdrop of the areas of issues from digitalisation to wellbeing and sustainability, the Inter-Secretariate Working Group on National Accounts (ISWGNA), with the assistance of the Advisory Expert Group (AEG), has updated the 2008 System of National Accounts (2008 SNA). The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) has since placed the updated 2008 SNA as draft 2025 SNA on its website for global consultation. The Indian Association for Research in National Income and Wealth (IARNIW) organised a seminar on 26 November 2024 to deliberate on the changes made in the 2008 SNA and the challenges for the implementation of the recommendations of draft 2025 SNA. Based on the deliberations of the IARNIW seminar, the present paper considers the various changes made in the 2008 SNA to draft 2025 SNA and points out the challenges for the adoption of the recommendations in the Indian National Accounts Statistics. This paper could help to initiate the revision process of the present Indian National Accounts Series that should implement the recommendations of the 2025 SNA to the extent feasible.