India’s services sector maintained strong momentum in May 2026, with 16 of the 19 monitored sub-sectors registering positive year-on-year growth and eight recording double-digit expansion, according to the latest Sub-Sectoral Trial Index of Services Production (ISP) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Wednesday.
The experimental index, based on the revised 2024-25 base year, showed that Accommodation and Food Services emerged as the fastest-growing segment, recording a 27.4 per cent increase over May 2025.
Other major contributors to services growth included Real Estate at 17.7 per cent, Retail Trade at 13.3 per cent, Banking at 12.1 per cent, Telecommunications at 11.8 per cent, Warehousing and Support Activities for Transportation at 11.5 per cent, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services at 11 per cent, and IT and Computer-related Services at 10.3 per cent.
Several other sectors also posted positive growth during the month. Repair Services expanded by 9.8 per cent, followed by Water Transport at 5.6 per cent, Administrative and Support Services at 5 per cent, Road Transport at 4.4 per cent, Wholesale Trade at 3.7 per cent, Railway Transport at 3.4 per cent, Insurance at 2.7 per cent, and Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Services at 1.6 per cent.
However, three sub-sectors witnessed a contraction in May. Information and Broadcasting recorded the sharpest decline, falling 7.6 per cent compared with the same month last year, while Air Transport declined 2.8 per cent and Postal and Courier Services slipped 1 per cent.
The data showed that the Accommodation and Food Services index rose to 148.9, while Retail Trade reached 138.1 and Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Services stood at 140.6. Banking recorded an index of 120.2, Telecommunications 114.8, and Real Estate 113.3 during the month.
MoSPI said the monthly Index of Services Production is currently being released on an experimental basis to assess data quality, test the robustness of the methodology and obtain feedback from stakeholders before the index is finalised.
The ministry also noted that the indices for the Railways, Banking and Insurance sub-sectors are based on provisional monthly data and will be revised annually as updated information becomes available.
The Index of Services Production is intended to provide a high-frequency measure of activity across key services industries, complementing existing indicators of economic performance and offering a more timely assessment of trends in India’s services sector.
