New Delhi, Oct 29 (IANS) As many as 13 of the 19 services sub-sectors of the Indian economy recorded a robust double-digit growth in August this year, compared to the same month of the previous year, according to the Index of Services Production (ISP) with base year 2024-25, released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Thursday.

This was an improvement over July when 10 of the 19 sub-sectors recorded double-digit growth.

Retail trade was the fastest-growing segment with an increase of 19.9 per cent in August this year compared to August 2025, up from 18.5 per cent in June.

The real estate sector accelerated to 17.6 per cent during the month from 14.4 per cent in July. Repair services also recorded a 17.6 per cent increase in August. The insurance sector recorded a 16.5 per cent growth while banking services shot up by 14.9 per cent in August compared to 12.3 per cent in July, reflecting the higher level of economic activity, according to official data.

Scientific and technical services including R&D also recorded a robust growth of 14.2 per cent growth during August compared to the same month of the previous year. Postal and courier services registered a strong 13.2 per cent growth while telecommunications also clocked a robust double-digit growth of 11.8 per cent during August, compared to the same month of the previous year.

Road transport registered a strong growth of 9.4 per cent during the month on the back of the fast-expanding highways segment. Similarly, water transport also grew 9.5 per cent during August compared to the same month last year.

However, air transport contracted by 9.6 per cent in August this year compared to August 2025. This was the fourth consecutive month of contraction for air travel as the widening Middle East conflict and the continuing closure of Pakistan’s air space for Indian airliners adversely impacted the international operations. The decline widened from 8.4 per cent in July, the figures showed.

Accommodation and food recorded an 11.9 per cent growth which was lower than 12.6 per cent in July. The growth in IT and computer-related services accelerated to 13.8 per cent in August, up from 10.7 per cent in July.

Warehousing and support activities for transportation clocked an 11 .2 per cent growth during the month, up from 9.8 per cent in July.

Administrative and support services which was the fastest-growing segment with an increase of 20.9 per cent in July slowed to 13.1 per cent in August even as they stayed in the high growth double-digit zone.

Transport segments other than aviation posted a faster growth during the month. Railway transport growth more than doubled to 7.5 per cent, postal and courier services quickened to 8.7 per cent and water transport rose to 7.7 per cent.

In index terms, accommodation and food stood highest at 148.2, followed by retail trade at 122 and road transport services at 116.8 with repair services in the third spot at 114.7.

–IANS

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