The Index of Services Production (ISP) is a new monthly high-frequency macroeconomic indicator, a concept developed by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to measure short-term changes in the real output of India's formal services sector. The services sector has contributed over 50 per cent of India's Gross Value Added (GVA) since 2013-14, but the country lacked a monthly indicator to track its real growth. The ISP was created to solve this data gap, acting as the services-sector counterpart to the existing Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which tracks mining, manufacturing, and electricity.
The framework for the ISP was finalized by a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on ISP, constituted in May 2025 under the chairpersonship of Debjani Ghosh. The index is compiled using a fixed-weight Laspeyres volume index methodology, with the base year fixed at 2024-25. The weights for the index are derived from the sectors' contribution to GVA. The mechanism relies heavily on aggregated Goods and Services Tax (GST) data on outward supplies for market-based services, complemented by administrative data from sectors like railways, aviation, banking, and insurance. For GST-exempt sectors like health and education, data from the Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises (ASISSE) will be used.
The ISP connects directly to the IIP, as both together will provide a more comprehensive picture of overall economic activity. It also connects to the GST Network and the ASISSE survey, which are key data sources. The ISP is a new concept, with the trial monthly series set to be released on July 14, 2026, with a lag of around 60 days from the reference month. This launch marks a significant change, as it introduces India's first official monthly measure for the services sector, replacing the previous reliance on indirect indicators like Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) surveys and GST collections.