Technical panel recommends phased rollout of Index of Services Production with trial release first
New Delhi, July 7
A Technical Advisory Committee constituted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has recommended a phased rollout of the proposed Index of Services Production, with both the overall index and sub-sectoral indices to be released initially on a trial basis before regular publication.
The committee, 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 embarks on compilation of the Index of Services Production (ISP) as a high-frequency indicator for the services sector representing more than 50 per cent of Gross Value Added (GVA) contribution," the ministry said while releasing the report.
The report also recommended compiling the index using 2024-25 as the base year, adopting a Laspeyres volume index methodology and aggregating sectoral indices using Gross Value Added (GVA) weights. It further suggested releasing the monthly index within 60 days of the reference month to provide a timely measure of activity in India's services sector.
According to the report, 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). The services sector currently contributes nearly 53 per cent of India's Gross Value Added, making it the country's largest economic sector.
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.
"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 said.
MoSPI said the trial series of the Index of Services Production will be released on July 14, 2026. 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.
— ANI
Reader Comments
As a small business owner in hospitality, I hope this index captures the informal sector too. GST data only covers registered businesses, but so many local dhabas, salons, and small traders operate outside it. Without including them, the index might miss the real pulse of India's services economy. Still, good to see MoSPI working on this. Let's see the trial results.
Interesting development. Having worked with Indian statistical data, this is a significant upgrade. The Laspeyres method with 2024-25 base year should provide robust volume measures. My concern is the reliance on GST data—what about sectors like education and healthcare that are largely unorganized? They need their own data collection mechanisms. Trial period will be critical for validation.
Making ISP a priority makes sense—services are where India's future lies, from IT to tourism. I only hope the data is made publicly accessible and not just for policymakers. Entrepreneurs and investors need this to make decisions. Also, releasing within 60 days is decent, but could they push for 45 days? Every week counts in a fast-moving economy. Kudos to the technical panel though 🇮🇳
I'm cautiously optimistic. The trial release by July 2026 is still far away, but the methodology seems sound. Using administrative data like GST avoids survey biases. One worry: what about the 'gig economy' and new-age services like food delivery and online education? These aren't captured in traditional classification systems. The index needs to evolve with the services sector, not just measure what's already there.
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