New Delhi, Jun 25 (KNN) The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) will release India’s first-ever monthly Index of Services Production (ISP) on July 14, 2026, providing a high-frequency indicator to track output in the country’s services sector.
The inaugural release will include the index for April 2026. Thereafter, the ISP will be published on the 29th of every month with a 60-day time lag, the ministry said.
Services Sector Gets an IIP-Like Output Tracker
Conceived as the services-sector equivalent of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), the ISP is aimed at measuring short-term changes in services-sector activity, which contributes more than 50 percent of India’s Gross Value Added (GVA), reported Business Standard.
The trial series will use 2024-25 as the base year, aligning with the revised Consumer Price Index (CPI) series. The overall index will be compiled using a fixed-weight Laspeyres volume index, with sectoral weights derived from Gross Value Added estimates published in the National Accounts Statistics.
Nine Service Categories Excluded from Coverage
According to MoSPI, nine service categories will remain outside the index’s coverage, including public administration and defence, government-provided health and education services, and certain financial services.
It also includes activities of membership organisations, personal services, domestic household employment services, extraterritorial organisations, social work activities without accommodation, and gambling and betting activities.
The ministry said these sectors have been excluded largely because they are linked to core government functions, non-market activities or the informal economy.
The conceptual framework for the ISP was developed under the guidance of a Technical Advisory Committee constituted in May 2025 and chaired by Debjani Ghosh, Fellow, NITI Aayog. The committee’s detailed report is expected to be released in the first half of July.
Index to Draw on GST, Administrative and Survey Data
The new index will be based on a combination of administrative data, Goods and Services Tax (GST) records and enterprise survey data.
Administrative records will be used for sectors such as railways, air transport, banking and insurance, while GST data will support measurement of market services including trade, real estate, telecommunications and professional services.
Data from the Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises will be used for health and education services, which are exempt from GST.
Alternative Deflators to Be Used Initially
As Service Producer Price Indices are currently available only on a quarterly basis, MoSPI will use alternative deflators, including the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), sector-specific CPI measures, general CPI and CPI non-food indices, depending on the sector.
The introduction of the ISP is expected to strengthen the country’s economic monitoring framework by providing more timely insights into trends in the services sector, which is the largest contributor to India’s economy.
(KNN Bureau)
