Fourteen of the 19 sub-sectors covered in the first release of the government’s Index of Services Production recorded double-digit expansion in April 2026. Leading areas included accommodation and food services, retail trade, administrative and support activities, and real estate.
These 19 sub-sectors represent roughly 60 percent of India’s overall services sector. The new index is designed as the services counterpart to the Index of Industrial Production. While the industrial index appears on the 28th of each month, the services index will be published on the 29th.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation described the launch as a key step in improving measurement of the services sector, which accounts for more than half of national economic activity. Sub-sector data will offer the first monthly view of short-term changes in the formal services economy.
Although no overall growth figure was published in the initial release, economist DK Srivastava calculated a 20.8 percent year-on-year rise for the 19 sub-sectors in April 2026 compared with April 2025. The strongest performers were accommodation and food at 37.2 percent, retail trade at 30.8 percent, administrative and support services at 28.7 percent, and real estate at 27.7 percent.
The base year is 2024-25, with data drawn from administrative records, GST filings, and the Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises. Srivastava welcomed the high-frequency detail on 19 sub-sectors and noted that coverage is expected to rise over time.
