New Delhi, April 4 (Mayank Nigam) India’s services activities accelerated in March this year on the back of healthy demand conditions, efficiency gains and positive sales developments. Buoyant demand pushed HSBC India services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) to 61.2 in March 2024 from 60.6 in the previous month. “India’s services PMI rose in March, following a small dip in February, on the back of strong demand that spurred sales and business activity. Service providers increased hiring at the fastest pace since August 2023 in order to expand production capacity,” said Ines Lam, Economist at HSBC.
Lam further added, “Input costs rose at a faster rate, yet service providers were able to broadly maintain margins by charging higher output prices.” The HSBC PMI, compiled by S&P Global and published on Thursday, also highlighted increased pressure on the capacity of service providers, which in turn supported the joint-fastest rise in employment since November 2022. “Buoyant demand for Indian services created a cascade of positivity for the sector at the end of the current fiscal year. March saw one of the strongest expansions in total sales and business activity in close to 14 years, helped by a series record upturn in new export orders,” the S&P Global survey said.
The HSBC India Services PMI is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to a panel of around 400 service sector companies. The sectors covered include consumer (excluding retail), transport, information, communication, finance, insurance, real estate and business services. March survey data showed better demand for Indian services from domestic and international sources. New export business rose at the fastest rate since the series started in September 2014. Survey participants reported gains from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East.