‘Not very sure how GDP numbers are coming..’ Asian Paints CEO Amit Syngle says it does not ‘correlate with core sectors’

Asian Paints MD and CEO Amit Syngle has expressed cynicism about GDP numbers and admitted to investors the figures do not correlate to core sectors including steel and cement. 
“Not very sure how GDP numbers are coming,” Syngle said pointing out that that the numbers being talked about “do not seem to correlate to core sectors”. He was answering investor questions on May 9.

“You are correct that the GDP correlation has really gone for a toss, in the current year. I also feel that today, I am not very sure as to how the GDP numbers are coming. You guys are better wizards in terms of really understanding in terms of how those numbers are coming and so on and so forth,” Syngle told an investor.

GDP not correlating with sectors

The GDP numbers being talked about do not seem to correlate to core sectors such as steel and cement, Syngle said . "And sometimes you feel that there is such a variation happening across industries. How does that GDP really correlate to the actual GDP what we are kind of talking of. So, even if you look at the core sectors, whether it is steel, cement, so on and so forth, no where it is correlating with the kind of possibly overall GDP growth in terms of what we are kind of talking of," he said.

The Asian Paints top executive said there is need to "normalise" the GDP growth to find what it means for sectors "realistically". "I feel that we need to look at from a nominalisation of this GDP growth to find out more realistically, if we are talking of a 7% growth; whether that 7% really translates to a real-time of 5% or 4% GDP for a certain sector, and therefore look at extrapolating data in terms of seeing how the correlation works out."

He said Asian Paints is working on "finding out what the real GDP" is. "So currently, as you rightly said, even we are not kind of really correlating to the GDP in terms of looking at it ... So, we are also looking at ways and means in terms of finding out what is the real GDP."

What Congress Claimed

Syngle's responses gained traction after the Indian National Congress (INC) questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA government over GDP numbers and alleged that claims of India being the world's fifth-largest economy are based on "fake GDP data."

In a post on the social media site X (formerly known as Twitter, Congress referenced the Asian Paints executive's answer to investors to support its allegations. "What everyone was saying is confirmed by Asian Paints MD & CEO Mr Amit Syngle. He said that there is no correlation between GDP numbers and underlying sectors. GDP is off by a huge margin! He said this in the investor conference held on 9th May. The transcript is available online," it stated.

"So, the fifth largest GDP claim is also fake. God knows what is our real GDP!" it added.

This latest salvo from the Congress against the incumbent government comes as the 2024 Lok Sabha Polls approaches the last phase of the election cycle.