New Delhi, July 29 — Sixteen of the 19 sub-sectors tracked by the Index of Services Production (ISP) registered year-on-year growth in May 2026, with eight recording double-digit increases, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Wednesday.

Accommodation and food services led the expansion, rising 27.4 per cent as its index moved from 116.9 in May 2025 to 148.9 in May 2026. Real estate services followed with 17.7 per cent growth. Retail trade advanced 13.3 per cent, banking 12.1 per cent and telecommunications 11.8 per cent.

Warehousing and support activities for transportation grew 11.5 per cent. Professional, scientific and technical services, including research and development, expanded 11 per cent, while information technology and computer-related services rose 10.3 per cent.

Moderate gains were recorded in repair services (9.8 per cent), water transport (5.6 per cent), administrative and support services (5 per cent), road transport (4.4 per cent), wholesale trade (3.7 per cent) and railway transport (3.4 per cent). Insurance services increased 2.7 per cent and arts, entertainment and recreation services 1.6 per cent.

Three sub-sectors contracted: information and broadcasting fell 7.6 per cent, air transport declined 2.8 per cent and postal and courier services shrank 1 per cent.

The indices are compiled with 2024-25 as the base year and are being published on an experimental basis. The ministry stated that the trial series will allow it to assess data quality, test resilience and gather feedback from stakeholders. Figures for the railway, banking and insurance sub-sectors are based on provisional monthly data and will be revised annually.

In the preceding month of April 2026, 14 of the 19 sub-sectors had recorded double-digit growth compared with April 2025, according to the first sub-sectoral trial ISP released earlier.

Officials noted that the sub-sectoral indices provide, for the first time, a monthly measure of short-term movements in India’s formal services sector, covering roughly 60 per cent of the segment. An overall ISP will be published later once the stability and resilience of the sub-sectoral series have been examined and coverage has been improved.

The May data indicate broad-based expansion across most tracked services activities, led by hospitality, real estate and several consumer- and technology-facing segments, while a small number of sub-sectors remained under pressure.