Services output: retail trade grows 19.9% in August, air transport falls 9.6%

Retail trade grew 19.9% in August 2026 from a year earlier, the fastest of 19 service sub-sectors in a new experimental index, while air transport shrank 9.6%.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the Index of Services Production (ISP) for August on 29 October, with 2024-25 as the base year. Seventeen of the 19 sub-sectors grew over August 2025.

The numbers

S. No.	Broad Sub -Sector	ISP August, 2026	Growth in August, 2026 over August, 2025
1	Wholesale Trade	122.9	10.2
2	Retail Trade	139.2	19.9
3	Repair Services	130.7	17.6
4	Accommodation and food	145.3	11.9
5	Railway Transport	105.6	3.7
6	Road Transport	128.4	9.4
7	Water Transport	109.1	9.5
8	Air Transport	89.2	-9.6
9	Warehousing and support activities for transportation	126.8	11.2
10	Postal and Courier	114.3	13.2
11	Telecommunications	120.7	11.8
12	Information and Broadcasting	98.6	7.2
13	Banking	125.0	14.9
14	Insurance	107.9	16.5
15	Real Estate	115.3	17.6
16	IT and computer related services	116.4	13.8
17	Professional, scientific & technical services including R & D	112.7	14.2
18	Administrative and support services	118.8	13.1
19	Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Services	111.7	-4.7

S. No.	Broad Sub -Sector	August’25	September’25	October’25	November’25	December’25	January’26	February’26	March’26	April’26	May’26	June’26	July’26	August’26
1	Wholesale Trade	111.5	133.9	136.7	117.5	127.8	143.6	132.1	142.0	119.9	118.0	122.8	126.8	122.9
2	Retail Trade	116.1	133.8	153.1	122.3	138.7	145.4	138.7	155.4	137.5	138.1	138.0	140.0	139.2
3	Repair Services	111.2	125.1	140.0	114.7	122.0	134.5	110.0	187.4	119.9	122.4	120.1	126.3	130.7
4	Accommodation and food	129.9	124.7	136.7	148.2	166.9	150.2	148.5	148.3	138.1	148.9	141.2	144.0	145.3
5	Railway Transport	101.9	97.5	99.6	100.9	105.7	107.5	99.9	112.4	99.6	107.3	105.5	106.1	105.6
6	Road Transport	117.4	130.5	115.4	116.8	130.8	128.9	124.9	153.1	110.3	125.9	131.6	132.1	128.4
7	Water Transport	99.7	98.9	102.0	108.0	111.1	113.0	102.3	113.6	104.9	110.6	108.4	107.5	109.1
8	Air Transport	98.7	95.4	105.0	113.3	113.3	117.3	107.0	102.0	89.9	99.9	91.2	87.8	89.2
9	Warehousing and support activities for transportation	114.1	120.5	119.0	117.4	131.4	126.6	121.3	151.7	113.0	124.9	128.3	127.8	126.8
10	Postal and Courier	101.0	96.4	99.4	88.2	98.7	97.3	91.9	110.7	99.3	98.0	103.2	107.4	114.3
11	Telecommunications	108.0	110.4	112.0	109.6	118.0	118.6	112.3	121.0	118.9	114.8	118.1	121.4	120.7
12	Information and Broadcasting	91.9	105.2	107.4	86.5	120.2	109.5	99.8	142.1	114.0	100.8	125.1	120.8	98.6
13	Banking	108.8	112.0	110.8	111.9	115.0	115.8	117.2	121.0	119.9	120.2	121.3	121.9	125.0
14	Insurance	92.6	118.0	105.6	96.1	116.0	116.9	96.9	168.1	110.9	91.1	117.4	124.1	107.9
15	Real Estate	98.0	110.4	105.4	102.5	115.3	116.2	121.3	133.0	119.8	113.3	119.0	121.2	115.3
16	IT and computer related services	102.3	121.4	109.7	107.7	137.4	111.7	109.2	146.5	112.2	109.2	130.8	119.1	116.4
17	Professional, scientific & technical services including R & D	98.8	116.5	111.7	108.5	127.5	109.4	106.0	166.8	106.3	111.7	122.7	116.2	112.7
18	Administrative and support services	105.0	120.4	115.2	104.0	122.9	115.9	106.6	156.5	120.4	106.2	121.7	134.5	118.8
19	Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Services	117.2	98.5	120.1	98.2	131.5	119.8	110.1	147.6	127.5	140.6	119.2	107.0	111.7

Among the faster-growing sectors:

• Retail trade: +19.9%
• Repair services and real estate: +17.6% each
• Insurance: +16.5%
• Banking: +14.9%
• Professional, scientific and technical services: +14.2%
• IT and computer-related services: +13.8%

Two sectors shrank: air transport (−9.6%) and arts, entertainment and recreation (−4.7%). Railway transport grew the least among the rest, at 3.7%.

Why it matters

India has long had a monthly index for factory output, but not a comparable monthly measure of services, which make up a large part of the economy. This series is meant to fill that gap.

Read with care

MoSPI says the monthly indices are published on an experimental basis so that it can test data quality and get feedback. The banking, insurance and railway indices use provisional data and will be revised every year. So these figures may change, and month-to-month swings should be read with caution.

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Source: official release by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (29 OCT 2026 4:00PM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: Release of Sub-Sectoral Trial Index of Services Production (ISP) for August 2026 (Base Year 2024–25).