MoSPI launches India’s first monthly services production index for 19 sub-sectors
New Index to Offer High-Frequency Insights into India's Services Economy; Retail, Hospitality and Real Estate Lead Growth
The inaugural release covers 19 service sub-sectors for April 2026, representing nearly 60% of India's services sector, which contributes more than half of the country's economic activity.
New Delhi: In a major milestone for India’s statistical system, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Tuesday released the country’s first-ever Sub-SSectoral Trial Index of Services Production (ISP) with base year 2024-25, introducing a monthly indicator to measure short-term movements across key segments of the services economy.
The inaugural release covers 19 service sub-sectors for April 2026, representing nearly 60% of India’s services sector, which contributes more than half of the country’s economic activity. MoSPI said the remaining sectors will be added after validating the stability and resilience of the trial indices.
The ministry also announced that subsequent releases of the Index of Services Production (ISP) will be published on the 29th of every month, providing policymakers, businesses, investors and researchers with timely indicators of services sector performance.
A New Benchmark for Measuring India’s Services Economy
Unlike traditional annual or quarterly indicators, the monthly ISP is designed to capture high-frequency changes in formal service sector activity.
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 participation from academia, industry associations and relevant government departments. The committee’s report was released earlier this month, laying the methodological foundation for the new statistical framework.
Strong Growth Across Most Service Industries
The first release paints an encouraging picture of India’s services economy.
According to MoSPI:
- 14 out of 19 service sub-sectors recorded double-digit growth in April 2026 compared with April 2025.
- Nearly every sub-sector registered positive year-on-year growth.
- Accommodation & Food Services emerged as the fastest-growing segment.
Top Performing Service Sectors
The strongest-performing sectors in April 2026 were:
| Sub-Sector | Growth (YoY) |
|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food Services | 37.2% |
| Retail Trade | 30.8% |
| Administrative & Support Services | 28.7% |
| Real Estate | 27.7% |
| Telecommunications | 22.8% |
| Repair Services | 19.2% |
| Road Transport | 18.5% |
| Warehousing & Support Activities | 18.2% |
Other sectors posting healthy growth included Banking (12.2%), Insurance (15.6%), IT & Computer Related Services (15.2%), Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (16.5%), Arts & Entertainment (16.4%) and Wholesale Trade (15.3%).
Few Sectors Witness Decline
Among the 19 sectors covered, only two recorded contraction:
- Air Transport: -13.9%
- Railway Transport: -0.4%
📊 Digital India Times Digest
India Launches First Monthly Index of Services Production (ISP)
The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released India’s first Sub-Sectoral Trial Index of Services Production (ISP) with Base Year 2024-25, covering 19 service sub-sectors for April 2026. The index provides the country’s first monthly measure of short-term activity in the formal services economy.
📌 Why It Matters
- First-ever monthly indicator for India’s services sector.
- Covers nearly 60% of the services economy.
- Services contribute more than half of India’s GDP.
- Future releases will be published on the 29th of every month.
- Helps policymakers, businesses, investors and researchers monitor economic activity in near real time.
📈 Key Highlights (April 2026)
- ✅ 14 of 19 sub-sectors recorded double-digit growth.
- ✅ Nearly every sector reported positive year-on-year growth.
- ✅ Only Air Transport and Railway Transport witnessed decline.
| Top Performing Sector | Growth |
|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food Services | 37.2% |
| Retail Trade | 30.8% |
| Administrative & Support Services | 28.7% |
| Real Estate | 27.7% |
| Telecommunications | 22.8% |
📉 Sectors Showing Weakness
- ✈️ Air Transport: -13.9%
- 🚆 Railway Transport: -0.4%
📂 Coverage of the New Index
- Wholesale Trade
- Retail Trade
- Repair Services
- Accommodation & Food
- Railway Transport
- Road Transport
- Water Transport
- Air Transport
- Warehousing & Logistics
- Postal & Courier
- Telecommunications
- Information & Broadcasting
- Banking
- Insurance
- Real Estate
- IT & Computer Services
- Professional & Scientific Services
- Administrative Services
- Arts, Entertainment & Recreation
📚 Data Sources
- GST Data
- Administrative Records
- Annual Survey of Incorporated Service Sector Enterprises (ASISSE)
- Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- Wholesale Price Index (WPI)
💡 Why This Index Is Important
India has long had the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) to measure manufacturing and mining, but there was no equivalent monthly indicator for the services sector—the country’s largest contributor to GDP. The new ISP fills this gap by providing timely insights into retail, telecom, IT, logistics, banking, hospitality, and other service industries, enabling faster economic analysis and evidence-based policymaking.
Built on Multiple Data Sources
MoSPI has adopted a data-driven methodology by integrating information from multiple administrative and statistical databases.
The ISP draws upon:
- GST data for trade, transport, telecommunications, IT, real estate and several other services.
- Administrative data for sectors such as railways, air transport, banking and insurance.
- Annual Survey of Incorporated Service Sector Enterprises (ASISSE) for assigning weights.
The trial series currently focuses on the formal services sector, while sectors dominated by informal activity or core government services remain outside its scope.
Trial Series Before Full Rollout
MoSPI clarified that the monthly ISP is currently being published on an experimental basis to evaluate data quality, assess methodological robustness and obtain stakeholder feedback before introducing a comprehensive national Index of Services Production.
