MoSPI Releases Trial Index of Services Production for July 2026

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released the sub-sectoral trial Index of Services Production (ISP) for July 2026, covering 19 broad sub-sectors and computed on the base year 2024-25. The monthly index is still published on an experimental footing: the trial series is meant to let the ministry examine data quality, test how the numbers hold up and collect feedback from users and other stakeholders before a regular series is settled.

Why services needed an index

India has had a monthly production index for factories for decades, but the services sector, which accounts for the larger share of national output, had no comparable monthly measure. The ISP fills that gap. It tracks output across trade, the transport modes, warehousing, postal and courier work, telecommunications, information and broadcasting, banking, insurance, real estate, information technology, professional and scientific services, administrative and support services and arts, entertainment and recreation. A monthly reading means the services economy can be watched through the year rather than estimated once it is over.

Where growth was strongest

Measured against July 2025, the fastest growth in the month came in administrative and support services, followed by retail trade and then real estate. Accommodation and food services carried the highest index level of the nineteen sub-sectors, with retail trade next. Among the transport modes, road transport grew 9.9 per cent, warehousing and support activities for transportation 9.8 per cent, postal and courier services 8.7 per cent, water transport 7.7 per cent and railway transport 7.5 per cent. Insurance grew 8.9 per cent.

The two sub-sectors that shrank

Air transport fell 8.4 per cent, and at an index of 87.8 it was the only sub-sector to read below hundred, that is, below its own level in the base year. Repair services fell 5.0 per cent, yet its index of 126.3 stayed well above the base year, which is the distinction worth holding on to: the index shows the level of activity against the base year while the growth rate compares it with the same month a year earlier. The weakest positive growth was in arts, entertainment and recreation services at 1.7 per cent.

Caveats the ministry attached

MoSPI cautioned that the indices for the railways, banking and insurance sub-sectors rest on provisional monthly data and will be revised once a year. The release also carries an annexure of month-wise indices for every sub-sector from July 2025 onwards, and the data is available on the ministry's website and on its eSankhyiki portal.