New Delhi, March 3 -- Hard data is supposed to be cold and impersonal but also has the capacity to evoke myriad feelings. Consider the series of national-accounts data released on 28 February: India's gross domestic product (GDP) for the quarter from October to December 2024, second advance GDP estimates for 2024-25, first revised estimate for the previous year and the final estimate for 2022-23.

The numbers stir euphoria over upgrades to old data: GDP growth stands revised to 9.2% for 2023-24 and to 7.6% for 2022-23. Then there is relief that the second advance estimate for 2024-25, the current year, has GDP growing by 6.5%, higher than the 6.4% estimated earlier.

Yet, some anxiety seems inescapable when this number is viewed against t...