India to track services sector monthly with new index
What's the story
In a major development, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has launched the Index of Services Production (ISP), India's first-ever monthly tracker for the formal services sector. The index covers 19 sub-sectors as of April 2026, accounting for nearly 60% of India's services economy. The move is aimed at providing a better understanding of growth trends in key areas like accommodation and food services, retail trade, administrative support services, and real estate.
Growth indicators
Accommodation and food services topped growth charts
The first reading of the ISP shows a strong performance from the formal services economy, with 14 of the 19 sub-sectors registering double-digit year-on-year growth in April.
Accommodation and Food Services topped the list with a 37.2% increase, followed by Retail Trade (30.8%), Administrative and Support Services (28.7%), and Real Estate (27.7%).
Other sectors such as Wholesale Trade, Insurance, IT and Computer-related Services showed growth rates of over 15%.
Tracking mechanism
ISP to track short-term fluctuations in services sector
The ISP, with 2024-25 as its base year, is a pioneering tool to track short-term fluctuations in India's formal services sector.
It uses data from various sources like GST returns, administrative records, and the Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises (ASISSE).
While administrative data is used for sectors like banking and insurance, GST data supports industries such as wholesale/retail trade, hospitality, telecommunications, IT services, real estate, and professional services.
Publication strategy
Monthly ISP to be published on an experimental basis
The monthly ISP will be published on an experimental basis at first. This is to allow MoSPI to assess data quality, enhance coverage, and incorporate stakeholder feedback before launching a broader composite services production index.
The methodology for this new indicator was developed under the guidance of the Technical Advisory Committee on Index of Services Production (TAC-ISP), formed in May 2025 with representatives from government, academia, and industry.