The Indian government has completed the framework for the country’s inaugural Index of Services Production (ISP), with the trial monthly series scheduled for release on July 14. This development is a significant stride in enhancing the assessment of India’s services sector, as confirmed by an official statement on Tuesday. The proposed ISP will offer a comprehensive monthly gauge of short-term fluctuations in India’s formal services domain, complementing the existing Index of Industrial Production (IIP), as stated by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
The services segment accounts for nearly 53 percent of India’s Gross Value Added (GVA), playing a pivotal role in generating employment and propelling economic growth, investments, and exports. The Ministry highlighted that the statistical system in India has been notably strengthened by the availability of Goods and Services Tax (GST) data, which furnishes monthly insights into outward supplies reported by millions of businesses.
To construct the index, MoSPI will utilize aggregated GST data from the GST network alongside administrative datasets from sectors like railways, aviation, banking, and insurance. Additionally, data from the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises in Services Sector and Establishments (ASISSE) will be incorporated to encompass GST-exempt sectors such as health and education. It is important to note that unit-level GST data is neither accessed nor required for compiling the index.
A Technical Advisory Committee on Index of Services Production (TAC-ISP) was established by MoSPI in May 2025, chaired by Debjani Ghosh, a Distinguished Fellow at NITI Aayog. The committee extensively deliberated on the conceptual, methodological, and operational aspects of the index. Following public consultations and the release of an approach paper for feedback in April this year, the final report was formulated.
The report suggests compiling the index as a Laspeyres volume index with the base year set at 2024-25, utilizing Gross Value Added weights and publishing sector-specific indices at the two-digit NIC 2025 level. Furthermore, the committee proposes releasing the overall and sub-sectoral indices on a trial basis initially to gather stakeholder input and validate the methodology. It is recommended that the ISP be compiled on a monthly basis and disclosed within 60 days of the reference month, offering policymakers and businesses a prompt gauge of activity in India’s services economy.
