Growth Slows in 9 India Services Sub-Sectors in April, Improves in 10; Wholesale, Retail Among Laggards

Growth slowed sequentially in nine of the 19 sub-sectors covered by India's maiden trial Index of Services Production in April, with wholesale and retail trade, banking and transport services recording weaker expansion, according to data released by the Statistics Ministry today.

Wholesale trade growth decelerated to 15.3% in April from 32.1% in March, while retail trade slowed to 30.8% from 38.7%. Accommodation and food services growth eased to 37.2% from 48.5%, road transport moderated to 18.5% from 24.9%, and banking growth slowed to 12.2% from 17.2%. Air transport contracted 13.9% after expanding 7.0% in March, while warehousing and transport support services eased to 18.2% from 21.3%.

Growth accelerated in the remaining 10 sub-sectors. Telecommunications growth quickened to 22.8% in April from 12.3% in March, while administrative and support services accelerated to 28.7% from 6.6%. Professional, scientific and technical services grew 16.5%, up from 6.0%, real estate activity accelerated to 27.7% from 21.3%, and IT and computer-related services rose to 15.2% from 9.2%. Insurance rebounded to 15.6% after contracting 3.1% in March.

On a year-on-year basis, 14 of the 19 sub-sectors posted double-digit growth in April. Accommodation and food services remained the fastest-growing segment at 37.2%, followed by retail trade at 30.8%, administrative and support services at 28.7%, and real estate activities at 27.7%.

The Trial Index of Services Production, introduced with 2024-25 as the base year, covers 19 formal-sector services sub-sectors accounting for about 60% of India's services economy. The ministry plans to publish the experimental series every month before introducing a composite services production index after assessing the stability and coverage of the sub-sectoral indices.