The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has received a report from its Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) recommending a phased rollout of the proposed Index of Services Production (ISP). The committee suggests releasing both the overall index and sub-sectoral indices on a trial basis before regular publication begins.
Trial Release and Stakeholder Feedback
The TAC, in its report released by MoSPI on Tuesday, recommended that the trial series be used to gather stakeholder feedback, validate the methodology against quarterly and annual datasets, and assess the resilience of the indices before full-scale implementation. MoSPI stated that the trial series of the ISP will be released on July 14, 2026.
According to MoSPI, the ISP is being compiled as a high-frequency indicator for the services sector, which represents more than 50 per cent of the Gross Value Added (GVA) contribution. The report notes that the services sector currently contributes nearly 53 per cent of India's GVA, making it the country's largest economic sector.
Methodology and Base Year
The report recommends compiling the index using 2024-25 as the base year, adopting a Laspeyres volume index methodology, and aggregating sectoral indices using GVA weights. The monthly index is proposed to be released within 60 days of the reference month to provide a timely measure of activity in India's services sector.
The proposed ISP will, for the first time, provide a monthly indicator of short-term movements in India's formal services economy, complementing the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Data Sources
The committee recommended that the index primarily use aggregated Goods and Services Tax (GST) data to measure production across market-based services such as trade, hospitality, telecommunications, professional services, and real estate. For sectors outside the GST framework, including health, education, parts of transport, banking, and insurance, the index will rely on administrative datasets and other official data sources.
Significance and Impact
“The proposed ISP represents an important milestone in strengthening India's statistical system and improving the measurement of the services sector, which accounts for more than half of the country's economic activity,” the report stated. The new index is expected to provide policymakers, businesses, and investors with a high-frequency indicator to track trends in India's services economy and complement existing measures of industrial activity.
