By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, FEB 11, 2025: NATIONAL Accounts Division of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) organised a half day brainstorming session on "Conceptual Framework of Gross Domestic Knowledge Product (GDKP) Measurement" on 10th February, 2025 in Dr Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi. The session was chaired by Proncipal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to Government of India and attended by representatives of Ministries, Industry associations, NGOs.

The session was aimed to discuss the existing framework of measuring knowledge products within the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and to deliberate on conceptualization of a fresh approach to measure India's Knowledge Economy.

Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, elaborated on the significance of transitioning from traditional economic indicators to a knowledge-centric measurement approach. He emphasized that a refined methodology for GDKP would better capture the contributions of knowledge-driven sectors, innovation, and intellectual assets to India's economic growth.

Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, in his opening remarks highlighted the various surveys and other initiatives undertaken by MoSPI and the current efforts of the Ministry in revising base years of important macro-economic indicators like GDP, IIP and CPI. He highlighted the important role of knowledge in economic activities and hence a need to focus on a framework to capture its impact. He highlighted that MoSPI has been working with concerned Ministries in compiling satellite accounts, namely Tourism Satellite Accounts, Culture Satellite Accounts, Ocean and Blue economy accounting. Hence, this brainstorming session is aimed to explore if a satellite account to measure knowledge base of an economy can be worked out. 

A presentation by MoSPI provided insights into the existing definitions of GDKP, and the current approach of measuring knowledge production as part of Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF). It was noted that all expenditures on Intellectual Property Products (IPP) are currently recorded under GFCF, which serves as a key indicator of knowledge production. The presentation also elaborated on various data sources used for compiling IPP estimates across different institutional sectors in National Accounts Statistics.

The knowledge partner of the session, Pahle India Foundation, also presented conceptual issues in capturing the knowledge economy and provided insights on the possibility of developing a framework based on four pillars of knowledge i.e. the knowledge items, the knowledge producers, the knowledge distributors, and knowledge users (consumers and enhancers). Dr Rajeev Kumar, Chairman, Pahle India Foundation urged that India should lead the world in developing the framework of on knowledge economy. 

During the discussion, participants provided their understanding of knowledge and its impact on economic and social aspect of the country. Contribution of traditional knowledge in providing well-being was also discussed.

Finally, it was decided that a formulation to capture the knowledge economy is essential but not available. Therefore, there is a need to develop an acceptable and reliable framework that can comprehensively capture the impact of knowledge on economic and social life of the country.  Secretary, MoSPI urged the participants to support MoSPI in taking forward the effort and informed that proposals to this effect would be sought from institutions.  A technical committee would be formed to evaluate the proposal and provide guidance on measuring knowledge economy.

In his concluding remarks, Prof. Rajeeva Laxman Karandikar, Chairman, National Statistical Commission appreciated the efforts of MoSPI to foray into the uncharted territory and hoped that today's discussion will catalyse the knowledge experts in developing the framework.