The Indian government has officially rolled out a new monthly Index of Services Production (ISP), aiming to provide a more current and comprehensive understanding of the nation's dominant services sector. The inaugural data, released on Tuesday, covers April 2026 and indicates robust expansion, with 14 out of 19 sub-sectors reporting double-digit growth compared to April 2025.
Key Insights from the First ISP Data
The services sector, which contributes over half of India's Gross Value Added (GVA) and accounts for 30% of national employment, now has a dedicated monthly tracker similar to the Index of Industrial Production. This new index is currently in a trial phase, with its base year set at 2024-25.
Top Performing Sub-Sectors
- Accommodation and Food Services: Surged by 37.2%
- Retail Trade: Grew by 30.8%
- Administrative and Support Services: Increased by 28.7%
- Real Estate: Expanded by 27.7%
Conversely, air transport was the only sub-sector to record negative growth, declining by 13.9% in April 2026.
Expanding Coverage and Economic Significance
Currently, the ISP captures approximately 60% of the services sector. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) plans to expand this coverage to about 80% in the coming months by incorporating data from education, health, and ownership of dwellings.
Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MOSPI, emphasized the sector's critical role, stating, "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."
Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran highlighted the ISP's importance for real-time policy formulation. "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 explained.
Officials noted that the ISP serves as a proxy for GVA. India now joins several other major economies, including the UK, the European Union, China, Japan, and South Korea, which already release monthly services production data. The United States conducts a quarterly survey of its services sector.
The data for May 2026 is scheduled for release on July 29, maintaining a 60-day lag for subsequent monthly reports.