PIB TrackerIndia to launch an 'Index of Services Production' to measure its biggest economic sector monthly
From July 2026, MoSPI will roll out a new macro indicator — the services-sector counterpart of the IIP — to track the formal services economy month by month, filling a long-standing gap for the sector that dominates India's GDP.
What happened
- The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is preparing to launch the Index of Services Production (ISP) in July 2026.
- The ISP will be a new macro indicator to measure short-term changes in the growth of the services sector.
- As the counterpart of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) — which measures industrial-sector growth — the ISP will cover the formal services sector and be released monthly.
- A Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on the ISP, chaired by Ms Debjani Ghosh (distinguished fellow, NITI Aayog), was constituted in May 2025, with members from academia, industry associations and services ministries.
- Based on its deliberations, MoSPI released an approach paper on the methodological framework on 27 April 2026 for public comments, ahead of the index's launch.
For Prelims
- Index of Services Production (ISP): A new monthly index to track short-term services-sector output; it complements the IIP, giving India a high-frequency measure for the sector that dominates GDP.
- Why it matters: Services contribute over half of India's GVA/GDP, but India lacked a regular, high-frequency services-output index (unlike industry's IIP) — the ISP fills that data gap.
- IIP: The Index of Industrial Production (base 2011-12) measures industrial output (mining, manufacturing, electricity); the eight core industries form ~40% of it. The ISP is its services analogue.
- MoSPI: The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (with the National Statistical Office, NSO) compiles India's key statistics — GDP, CPI, IIP, PLFS and now the ISP.
- Base year: The ISP's trial indices use base year 2024-25 — keeping the index aligned with the current structure of the economy.
- Formal sector focus: The ISP initially covers the formal services sector (where data is available), reflecting a phased, data-driven rollout.
- Don't confuse: The ISP (services output, monthly) is distinct from the IIP (industrial output) and from price indices (CPI/WPI/PPI); it measures production/activity, not prices.
For UPSC: MoSPI will launch the Index of Services Production (ISP) in July 2026 — a monthly, IIP-equivalent indicator for the formal services sector (base 2024-25). Anchor the ISP and its rationale (services >50% of GDP but no high-frequency index), the IIP comparison, MoSPI/NSO's statistical system (GDP, CPI, IIP, PLFS), the TAC under Debjani Ghosh, and base-year choice — distinguishing output indices from price indices.
What it is NOT: The ISP measures services-sector OUTPUT/activity (monthly) — NOT prices (that is CPI/WPI/PPI). It is the services counterpart of the IIP (industry), and initially covers the formal services sector; it is being launched, with trial indices on base 2024-25.
For Mains
Syllabus: GS3.1 · Linkage L2
Anchor
Modernising economic statistics — a high-frequency index for the services sector that drives India's growth and jobs.
Substantiation (data)
MoSPI to launch the ISP (July 2026); IIP counterpart for the formal services sector; monthly; TAC under Debjani Ghosh (May 2025); approach paper (27 April 2026).
Exemplification
Cite the ISP as an example of strengthening India's statistical system to capture the services-led economy in real time.
Problematisation
Measuring the diverse, partly-informal services sector, data availability and coverage, and methodological robustness are challenges for the new index.
Way-forward
Expand coverage (incl. informal services over time), ensure data quality and timeliness, and integrate the ISP with IIP/GDP for coherent economic monitoring.
Position
Government stance: the ISP modernises India's statistics, providing a timely, reliable gauge of the services sector for evidence-based policy.
Deploys into: Economic statistics & data systems (ISP/IIP, MoSPI) · services sector & growth · evidence-based policy · base-year & methodology (GS3.1 economy, growth & employment).
Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation · 2026-06-24 · PRID 2277392 · PIB source ↗