The government has completed the framework for India’s first Index of Services Production (ISP), with the trial monthly series slated to be released on July 14, marking a significant move towards improving the measurement of the country’s services sector.
According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the proposed ISP will offer a thorough monthly assessment of short-term movements in India’s formal services industry for the first time and supplement the current Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
With a contribution of around 53% to India’s Gross Value Added (GVA), the services sector is a major source of jobs and has become a driving force behind economic expansion, investment, and exports.
Monthly data on outward supplies reported by millions of businesses, according to the ministry, has greatly improved India’s statistical system due to the availability of Goods and Services Tax (GST) data.
MoSPI will utilize the aggregated GST data supplied by the GST network, as well as administrative datasets from the railway, aviation, banking, and insurance industries, for the suggested index.
In order to cover GST-exempt industries like health and education, data from the ASISSE (Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises in Services Sector and Establishments) will also be used.
Nevertheless, the ministry made it clear that it does not need or access unit-level GST data in order to create the index.
According to the statement, MoSPI established a Technical Advisory Committee on Index of Services Production (TAC-ISP) in May 2025, headed by Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow at NITI Aayog, to create the new index.
The committee conducted extensive discussions about the index’s conceptual, methodological, and operational components. Before the final report was prepared, an approach paper was issued for public feedback in April of this year.
The study suggests that the index should be compiled as a Laspeyres volume index with 2024-25 as the base year, using Gross Value Added weights, and sector-wise indices should be released at the two-digit NIC 2025 level.
The committee has additionally suggested that the sub-sectoral and aggregate indices be issued on a preliminary trial basis in order to gather stakeholder comments and confirm the methodology.
Additionally, it suggested that the ISP be compiled on a monthly basis and published within 60 days of the reference month, offering decision-makers and companies a current indicator of activity in India’s services sector.