Index of Services Production for August 2026 Released

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation published the sub-sectoral trial Index of Services Production (ISP) for August 2026 on 29 October 2026. The index follows 19 broad sub-sectors of the services economy and is built on the base year 2024-25, so every reading is measured against average output in that year.

Which services stood highest

Accommodation and food services recorded the highest index reading of the 19, followed by retail trade and then repair services. Measured against August 2025, retail trade also expanded faster than any other sub-sector. Repair services and real estate shared the next place, growing at an identical pace, and insurance came after them. Banking, telecommunications and warehousing all improved on a year earlier, as did postal and courier services, information technology and computer related services, and professional, scientific and technical services including research and development.

Where output shrank

Only two of the 19 sub-sectors were smaller than in August 2025. Air transport fell 9.6 per cent and its reading of 89.2 was the only one in the set below the level of the base year. Arts, entertainment and recreation services slipped 4.7 per cent to 111.7, staying above the base-year mark even after the decline.

The slower risers

Among the sub-sectors that did grow, railway transport was the most sluggish at 3.7 per cent. Road transport rose 9.4 per cent and water transport 9.5 per cent, both well behind the leaders in trade and repair.

How to read the series

These monthly figures remain experimental. The ministry is issuing a trial series so that it can examine the quality of the data, test how well it holds up and collect comments from users before the index settles into a regular release. The readings for railways, banking and insurance rest on provisional monthly returns and will be revised once a year, so candidates should treat them as subject to change. The numbers are carried on the ministry's own website and on its eSankhyiki portal.