New Delhi, Dec. 3 -- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday hit back at the Congress leaders who took a jibe at the government over the IMF's annual review of India's national accounts statistics giving the data Grade 'C' and asserted that the IMF report does not question the growth figures. She said that Grade C was assigned because the data is based on an outdated base year, 2011-12, and the new base year will be 2022-23 from next year.

Sitharaman made the remarks during her reply in to the debate on the Central Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which was later passed by the Lok Sabha. The bill is aimed at increasing excise duty on tobacco products and their manufacturing after a discussion.

The Minister said the IMF report foc...