# 13 of 19 service sub-sectors post double-digit growth in August 2026-10-30T04:37:10+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Thirteen of India's 19 services sub-sectors recorded double-digit growth in August from a year earlier in 2025, according to the trial Index of Services Production (ISP) released on Thursday, 29 October. Retail trade led with 19.9% growth, followed by repair services and real estate at 17.6% each, insurance at 16.5%, and banking at 14.9%. IT services grew 13.8%, telecommunications 11.8%, and accommodation and food 11.9%. Seventeen of the 19 sub-sectors posted positive growth overall. The only two laggards were air transport, which contracted 9.6%, and arts, entertainment and recreation services, which shrank 4.7%. The air transport index has fallen steadily from 117.3 in January to 89.2 in August. CareEdge Ratings estimates overall services output rose 14% year-on-year in August, up from 13.5% in July, though the ministry has not released a headline ISP figure. The trial ISP data is published on Thursday, 29 October. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both Forbes India and the Economic Times report near-identical trial ISP data, with Forbes India leading on the two contracting sub-sectors, air transport (−9.6%) and arts, entertainment (−4.7%), while the Economic Times foregrounds the headline that 17 of 19 sectors expanded and the 14% CareEdge output estimate. The Economic Times adds an economist quote linking ISP performance to broader indicators such as bank credit and GST, signalling approval of the momentum. The uniform data means the frame difference is small: Forbes India is marginally more alert to weakness, the Economic Times more emphatic on resilience. The balanced reading is that the services economy indeed shows broad double-digit growth, but the two contracting sectors, especially air transport, which has dropped steadily since January, warrant attention. CareEdge has estimated the headline figure the ministry itself has not released. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - forbesindia.com (neutral report) Leads with the two contracting sectors, highlighting air transport decline - economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Leads with expansion count, adds economist quote and CareEdge estimate This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: CareEdge Ratings, Index of Services Production, Retail Trade Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/13-of-19-service-sub-sectors-post-double-digit-growth-in-august/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/13-of-19-service-sub-sectors-post-double-digit-growth-in-august/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/