24 August,2026 05:33 PM IST | New Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Image. File pic.
Most of the service sectors recorded inflation in the June quarter of FY27, according to the provisional Service Producer Price Indices (PPI) data.
The government on Monday released the provisional PPI for seven services that includes Banking, Securities Transaction, Insurance, Management of Pension Funds, Railways, Air (Passenger), and Telecom, according to news agency PTI.
Air passenger service witnessed a 31.94 per cent annual inflation in the June quarter, recording the highest rate of price rise among the seven major services, according the data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
There is no sequential inflation data as the price reference period for this sector has been taken as 2025-26 fiscal, as per PTI.
The annual inflation in railway passenger service price index jumped 3.50 per cent during the June quarter of the current fiscal, the same rate as during March quarter of FY26.
Inflation in Banking Service Contribution sector stood at 6.90 per cent in Q1 of FY27, compared to 3.30 per cent in Q4 of FY26.
The Banking Service Price Index and the Securities Transaction Service Price Index saw a deflation of 3.35 per cent and 1.32 per cent, respectively in June quarter, which compares to a deflation of 4.10 per cent and an inflation of 0.55 per cent in the previous March quarter, according to PTI.
Pension funds, insurance and telecom sector indices recorded an inflation of 5.20 per cent, 0.98 per cent and 0.72 per cent, respectively in June quarter, compared to decrease of 0.76 per cent, 0.68 per cent and 0.99 per cent, respectively in March quarter.
In June, the government had introduced PPI data for both goods and services to show price changes at the producer level more accurately. This is expected to gradually replace WPI-based inflation figures over the next five years.
The shift from WPI to PPI follows the submission of the report of the working group under former NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand in April. The group was set up on December 30, 2024, with the mandate to revise the base year of the WPI from 2011-12 to 2022-23, and compile the PPI with 2022-23 as the base year, as per PTI.
"Unlike WPI, the PPI, comprising a set of indicators such as Output PPI (Goods) and Services PPI, provides a more accurate measure of price changes from producers' perspective, thereby enhancing its suitability for use in National Accounts/GDP compilation and estimation of real value addition," Chand had said in the report.
Service PPI measures the change in the average prices received by producers on production of a service, and the government plans to expand the Service PPI data to more service sectors.
(With inputs from PTI)
