New govt services index shows retail trade up 30.8%, hospitality up 37.2%

MoSPI's first trial Index of Services Production for April shows 14 of 19 sub-sectors posting double-digit growth. Retail trade jumped 30.8% and accommodation and food services 37.2% year-on-year. The 2024-25 base-year index covers ~60% of services and offers new monthly tracking of formal retail and consumer output.

— Source publishedTue, 14 Jul, 2026, 20:11 IST·First seen Tue, 14 Jul, 2026, 20:28 IST·Source Times of India · Business

What happened

MoSPI · Govt released first trial Index of Services Production for April; retail trade grew 30.8% and accommodation/food services 37.2% year-on-year, providing

Key facts

  • 14 of 19 sub-sectors double-digit growth
  • retail trade +30.8%
  • accommodation and food services +37.2%
  • air transport -13.9%
  • railway transport -0.4%
  • base year 2024-25
  • covers ~60% of services sector

Why this matters

A new monthly services production index covering ~60% of services offers a fresh macro-tracking tool to time market entry, M&A, and expansion decisions in high-growth retail and hospitality segments.

What to watch

  • Second monthly release confirming or reversing the growth momentum
  • MoSPI moving index from trial to official status with methodology notes
  • Q1 FY26 retail/QSR earnings validating or contradicting the index
  • RBI or MPC commentary referencing services production data
  • Divergence between formal-index growth and GST/e-way bill consumption proxies
  • Cross-check the 30.8%/37.2% prints against listed retailer and QSR same-store sales guidance for April quarter
  • Flag base-effect distortion: new 2024-25 base plus trial status inflates YoY comparability
  • Map which formal retail names (grocery, apparel, QSR) align with the hospitality/food-services strength
  • Set up monthly ingestion of the IServP series once regularized