India gets first monthly Index of Services Production (ISP)

The Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released India’s first Trial Index of Services Production (ISP) on 14 July 2026.

• The ISP provides, for the first time, a monthly measure of short-term economic activity in the formal services sector.
• The Ministry clarified that the index is being released on an experimental (trial) basis to:
  • Assess the quality of data.
  • Test the robustness of the methodology.
  • Incorporate stakeholder feedback before launching a comprehensive Services Production Index.
• The inaugural ISP uses 2024–25 as the base year and covers April 2026.
• The current index includes 19 service sub-sectors, representing nearly 60% of India’s services sector.

Key Highlights

• The first trial release showed strong growth across the formal services sector.
• Fourteen out of the 19 sub-sectors recorded double-digit growth in April 2026 compared with April 2025.
• Nearly all service categories registered positive year-on-year growth.

Top-performing Sub-sectors (April 2026)

• Accommodation and Food Services – 37.2%
• Retail Trade – 30.8%
• Administrative and Support Services – 28.7%
• Real Estate Activities – 27.7%

Data Sources

The Index of Services Production (ISP) has been compiled using multiple data sources, including:

• Goods and Services Tax (GST) data
• Administrative records
• Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises (ASISSE)

Significance of the ISP

• The ISP fills an important data gap by providing a high-frequency indicator of the performance of India’s formal services sector, similar to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for manufacturing.
• It will help:
  • Policymakers monitor short-term economic trends.
  • Businesses assess sectoral performance.
  • Researchers analyse service-sector growth with greater frequency.
• MoSPI has announced that the Index of Services Production will be released on the 29th of every month, improving the availability of timely economic data for India’s services-driven economy.

Source: PIB

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