The Union government has introduced a trial Index of Services Production to improve measurement of output across India's formal services economy.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) described the sub-sectoral ISP as a major milestone in improving the measurement of India's services sector and strengthening the country's statistical system. It said the comprehensive overall Index of Services Production will be introduced after evaluating the stability of the trial series and expanding its coverage-the first set of data points to broad-based growth in the services sector. Fourteen of the 19 sub-sectors recorded double-digit growth in April this year compared to the corresponding month last year, while almost all remaining sectors also registered positive growth. The fastest-growing sectors are accommodation and food services with 37.2 per cent and Retail Trade with 30.8 per cent.

MoSPI said the data will be available on e- sankhyiki portal as well. On the occasion, Secretary, MoSPI, Dr Saurabh Garg, today said that the launch of the Index marks a significant step in strengthening India's statistical system. The Secretary highlighted that the index has been developed entirely using administrative data, including inputs from government ministries and GST records, without imposing any additional compliance burden on industries or businesses. He also explained that the ISP is an output indicator and should not be equated with the Gross Value Added (GVA) used in GDP estimation. Dr Garg said that the Ministry will continue to seek feedback from stakeholders to strengthen the ISP further and enhance the country's statistical ecosystem.

Meanwhile, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Dr V Anantha Nageswaran emphasised that the release of the index should be viewed as a trial series, not a final or perfect index. He said that releasing it publicly reflects the confidence of the Ministry in the method and a willingness to improve it through scrutiny. He further said that the coverage of the index would expand over time, with the addition of sectors such as health services and ownership of dwelling businesses, which will take the coverage to around 85 to 90 per cent of formal services sector contribution in the economy.