In a major step towards strengthening India’s macroeconomic indicators, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Tuesday released the country’s first trial Index of Services Production (ISP) for 19 sub-sectors, providing, for the first time, a monthly measure of short-term activity in the formal services sector. The inaugural index, with 2024-25 as the base year, covers April 2026 and accounts for nearly 60 per cent of India’s services sector.
According to the ministry, the sub-sectoral ISP represents “an important milestone in strengthening India’s statistical system and improving the measurement of the services sector,” which contributes more than half of the country’s economic activity. The overall Index of Services Production will be introduced at a later stage after assessing the stability of the trial series and expanding coverage.
The first release showed robust performance across the sector, with 14 of the 19 sub-sectors recording double-digit growth in April 2026 over the corresponding month last year, while almost all categories registered positive growth.
Among the top performers, Accommodation and Food Services registered the highest growth at 37.2 per cent, followed by Retail Trade (30.8 per cent), Administrative and Support Services (28.7 per cent) and Real Estate (27.7 per cent). Telecommunications expanded by 22.8 per cent, while Wholesale Trade, Banking, Insurance and IT services also recorded healthy double-digit growth.
However, Air Transport contracted by 13.9 per cent, while Railway Transport recorded a marginal decline of 0.4 per cent during the month.
The ministry said the index has been developed under the guidance of the Technical Advisory Committee on Index of Services Production (TAC-ISP), constituted in May 2025, with representation from academia, industry associations and relevant government ministries and departments.
MoSPI said the ISP has been compiled using multiple data sources, including GST data, administrative records and the Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises (ASISSE). GST data has been used for sectors such as trade, accommodation, telecommunications, real estate and IT services, while administrative data has been utilised for railways, air transport, banking and insurance.
MoSPI said the index will now be released on the 29th of every month, enabling policymakers, businesses and researchers to monitor short-term movements in India’s formal services economy with greater frequency.
The ministry clarified that the monthly ISP is being published on an experimental basis to assess data quality, test the resilience of the methodology and incorporate stakeholder feedback before rolling out a comprehensive overall Services Production Index.
