Accommodation, Food, Retail Lead India's New Services Index Growth

MoSPI's first trial Index of Services Production shows strong growth in India's services sector for April 2026. Accommodation and food services, retail trade, and real estate led the boom, while air and railway transport saw a decline.

Accommodation and food services, retail trade and real estate emerged as the fastest-growing segments in India's services sector in April 2026, according to the first release of the trial Index of Services Production (ISP) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).

The ministry on Tuesday released the first set of sub-sectoral ISPs for 19 services sub-sectors with 2024-25 as the base year. The new index covers around 60 per cent of the country's services sector and marks the beginning of a monthly indicator that will track short-term movements in India's formal services sector. "Top Sub - Sectors reporting strong growth in the April, 2026 growth are Accommodation and Food (37.2 per cent), Retail Trade (30.8 per cent), Administrative & support services (28.7 per cent) and Real Estate (27.7 per cent)," it said.

Sector-wise Performance Breakdown

According to the ministry, 14 out of the 19 sub-sectors recorded double-digit growth in April 2026 compared with April 2025, while nearly all categories registered positive growth. Other sectors also recorded healthy growth. Telecommunications expanded 22.8 per cent, Repair Services grew 19.2 per cent, Road Transport increased 18.5 per cent, while Warehousing and Support Activities for Transportation rose 18.2 per cent.

The ministry also noted that the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, including R&D, recorded 16.5 per cent growth, followed by Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Services at 16.4 per cent, Insurance at 15.6 per cent, Wholesale Trade at 15.3 per cent, IT and Computer Related Services at 15.2 per cent, and Banking at 12.2 per cent.

Among the remaining sectors, Water Transport grew 5.7 per cent, Postal and Courier Services increased 3.3 per cent, and Information and Broadcasting recorded 2.5 per cent growth.

Sectors Witnessing Decline

However, two sectors witnessed a decline during the month. Air Transport contracted 13.9 per cent, while Railway Transport recorded a marginal decline of 0.4 per cent compared with April 2025.

About the New Services Index

MoSPI said the 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. It said the release of sub-sectoral ISPs provides, for the first time, a monthly measure of short-term movements in India's formal services sector.

MoSPI said subsequent ISP data will be released on the 29th of every month, while the overall ISP will be introduced later after studying the stability and resilience of the sub-sectoral indices and improving the overall coverage of services.

The ministry said the trial series has been prepared using GST data, administrative data, and data from the Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises (ASISSE). It added that the monthly ISPs are being published on an experimental basis to examine data quality, test the resilience of the index and obtain feedback from stakeholders and users before bringing out the overall Index of Services Production. (ANI)

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