Govt releases new monthly Services Production Index; Here's what the first data shows
Seen as a proxy of GVA, covers 14 of 19 sub-sectors for now
- Jul 14, 2026,
- Updated Jul 14, 2026 7:34 PM IST
With the services sector the most dominant part of the Indian economy, the government on Tuesday released a new index to measure monthly production of about 19 services.
The data from the Index of Services Production for April revealed that 14 of the 19 sub-sectors reported double-digit growth as compared to April 2025.
Top sub–sectors reporting strong growth in the April 2026 quarter are accommodation and food (37.2%), retail trade (30.8%), administrative and support services (28.7%) and real estate (27.7%). Air transport was the only sub-sector reporting negative growth of -13.9% in April 2026.
Don't Miss: Amid US probe, India set to prohibit import of goods manufactured using forced labour Data for the month of May will be released on July 29, and data will be released with a lag of 60 days. The base year of trial ISPs is 2024 -25. The Index of Services Production, on the lines of the index of industrial production, is, however, in a trial phase for now. Officials explained that the 19 sub-sectors capture about 60% of the services sector, and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation expects to expand the coverage to about 80% in the coming months with the inclusion of data on education, health, and ownership of dwellings. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MOSPI, highlighted the importance of the sector and noted that services contribute more than half of the gross value added and provide 30% of the employment in the country. The ISP will help track the production of services on a monthly basis, he said. Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran noted that for a long time, India has had a monthly tracker of industrial output, which is only a small part of the economy, while there is no such data for the services sector. Underlining the importance of the ISP, he further said that while policy is made in real time, much of the best data arrives late. “When a sector slows, we would like to know within weeks, not after the annual accounts are closed. A monthly reading lets us tell a pausing wobble from a genuine turn. It lets us see whether a policy measure is finding its way through the economy or not,” he said. Officials noted that ISP is a proxy for GVA. Several countries, including the UK, the European Union, China, Japan, and South Korea, release monthly ISP data. The US does a quarterly survey of the services sector.
With the services sector the most dominant part of the Indian economy, the government on Tuesday released a new index to measure monthly production of about 19 services.
The data from the Index of Services Production for April revealed that 14 of the 19 sub-sectors reported double-digit growth as compared to April 2025.
Top sub–sectors reporting strong growth in the April 2026 quarter are accommodation and food (37.2%), retail trade (30.8%), administrative and support services (28.7%) and real estate (27.7%). Air transport was the only sub-sector reporting negative growth of -13.9% in April 2026.
Don't Miss: Amid US probe, India set to prohibit import of goods manufactured using forced labour Data for the month of May will be released on July 29, and data will be released with a lag of 60 days. The base year of trial ISPs is 2024 -25. The Index of Services Production, on the lines of the index of industrial production, is, however, in a trial phase for now. Officials explained that the 19 sub-sectors capture about 60% of the services sector, and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation expects to expand the coverage to about 80% in the coming months with the inclusion of data on education, health, and ownership of dwellings. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MOSPI, highlighted the importance of the sector and noted that services contribute more than half of the gross value added and provide 30% of the employment in the country. The ISP will help track the production of services on a monthly basis, he said. Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran noted that for a long time, India has had a monthly tracker of industrial output, which is only a small part of the economy, while there is no such data for the services sector. Underlining the importance of the ISP, he further said that while policy is made in real time, much of the best data arrives late. “When a sector slows, we would like to know within weeks, not after the annual accounts are closed. A monthly reading lets us tell a pausing wobble from a genuine turn. It lets us see whether a policy measure is finding its way through the economy or not,” he said. Officials noted that ISP is a proxy for GVA. Several countries, including the UK, the European Union, China, Japan, and South Korea, release monthly ISP data. The US does a quarterly survey of the services sector.