MoSPI Launches First Index of Services Production for April 2026
The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has commenced the release of its experimental Index of Services Production (ISP) for 19 sub-sectors with base year 2024-25. This first release covers April 2026 data and represents a significant milestone in strengthening India's statistical system by providing monthly measurement of short-term movements in the formal services sector, which accounts for over half of India's economic activity. The 19 sub-sectors covered represent approximately 60% of the entire services sector.
Growth Performance Across Sub-Sectors
In April 2026 compared to April 2025, 14 out of 19 sub-sectors recorded double-digit growth, with nearly all categories showing positive growth. The top performing sub-sectors were Accommodation and Food services with 37.2% growth (from 100.7 to 138.14), Retail Trade with 30.8% growth (from 105.1 to 137.50), Administrative & support services with 28.7% growth (from 93.6 to 120.37), and Real Estate with 27.7% growth (from 93.8 to 119.76). Other notable performers included Telecommunications (22.8% growth), Repair Services (19.2%), Road Transport (18.5%), and Warehousing and support activities for transportation (18.2%). Only two sectors showed negative growth: Air Transport declined by 13.9% (from 104.5 to 89.90) and Railway Transport declined marginally by 0.4% (from 100.0 to 99.59).
Methodology and Data Sources
The ISP compilation follows recommendations from the Technical Advisory Committee on Index of Services Production (TAC-ISP) constituted in May 2025, whose report was released on July 7, 2026. The index uses a differentiated approach based on data availability: administrative/secondary data for Air Transport, Railway Transport, Water Transport (Freight), Banking and Insurance; GST data for Wholesale Trade, Retail Trade, Repair and Maintenance, Accommodation & Food, Road Transport, Water Transport (Passenger), Warehousing, Postal & courier, Telecommunications, Information & Broadcasting, Real estate, IT services, Professional services, Administrative services, and Arts/Entertainment; and Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises (ASISSE) data for providing weights at the 2/3-digit NIC level.
Deflator Methodology
The ISP uses sector-specific deflators: WPI for Wholesale Trade; CPI-Retail for Retail Trade; CPI-General for Repair & Maintenance, Banking and Insurance; and various specialized CPI measures for other sectors including CPI-Restaurants and accommodation services for Accommodation and food, CPI-Passenger transport by road for Road Transport, and CPI-Services for IT, Professional services, and Administrative services. For sectors where specific mapping isn't available, CPI-Services serves as the default deflator.
Coverage Limitations and Future Plans
The ISP currently covers only formal sector enterprises based on GST and administrative data, excluding services related to core government activities, non-market activities, and the informal sector. The monthly ISPs are published on an experimental basis to examine data quality, test resilience, and receive stakeholder feedback. Subsequent ISP releases will occur on the 29th of every month. The indices for Railways, Banking and Insurance sub-sectors are based on provisional monthly data and will undergo annual revision. MoSPI plans to release an overall ISP later after studying the stability and resilience of sub-sectoral ISPs and improving overall services coverage.