Services index with a base year of FY25 to be launched with a 60-day lag

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation will launch the Index of Services Production (ISP) next month, a new monthly indicator designed to measure output trends in India’s services sector, which accounts for over 53% of Gross Value Added (GVA).

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The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is set to launch the Index of Services Production (ISP) next month. Formatted as a monthly release akin to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), the new high-frequency indicator aims to track the output trajectory of India’s dominant services sector.Services account for over 53 per cent of Gross Value Added (GVA). According to the Ministry, the base year for ISP is 2024-25. The trial monthly indices for the year 2025-26 and the month of April 2026 are scheduled for release on July 14. Thereafter, the monthly trial indices will be released regularly, with a lag of about 60 days, on the 29th Day (or the next working day in case of a holiday) of every month.“It will provide timely information on the performance of services industries and thus strengthening monitoring of economic activity and supporting evidence-based policy decisions,” the Ministry said while releasing a set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Further, it will serve as a high-frequency indicator of services-sector growth and will provide time-series data to enable better economic forecasting and business-cycle analysis.Framework, advisory committee and sector coverageThe conceptual and methodological framework for compiling ISP was finalised in consultation with a technical advisory committee (TAC), which was constituted in May 2025 and headed by Debjani Ghosh of government think tank NITI Aayog. In addition to representatives from academia and industry associations, the TAC–ISP has members from ministries/departments of the services sector.The ISP will cover sub-sectors, such as wholesale and retail trade, transport, banking, insurance, telecommunications, hotels & restaurants, real estate, professional, scientific and technical services, arts, entertainment & recreation, among others. Additionally, two sub-sectors, health and education services, are proposed to be brought into the ISP framework after the report of the Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises (ASISSE).Some services that are not covered by ISPs are those related to core government activities or dominated by non–market activities and the informal sector. The excluded service sub-sectors comprise social work activities without accommodation, services of membership organisations, activities of private households with employed persons, health and Education services provided by the Government, and gambling and betting activities, among others.The ministry said that the index measures changes in the real output of diversified services industries over time. The main aims of compiling ISP are to provide economic trends that complement IIP and to gather high-frequency information on the performance of the services sector, thereby strengthening the existing statistical framework to support analytical and policy frameworks.Data sources, trial phase and methodologyThe MoSPI will utilise three main data sources for ISP: administrative data, GST returns and ASISSE. As some of these sources are still evolving and GST data will be used for the first time in statistical applications, trial or experimental ISP indices will be released for some time to observe their stability and resilience, it said, adding that regular compilation and dissemination will take place thereafter.Regarding the use of deflators, it explains that the ISP tracks short-term changes in the volume of services produced, while primary services data is collected in value terms (nominal value). The index captures the effects of both prices and value addition.A price deflator is therefore required to remove the effects of price changes from nominal service revenue. It transforms “value-based” (nominal) data into “volume-based” (real) data, allowing measurement of actual changes in service output over time, the ministry said.Published on June 24, 2026