New Delhi, May 6 (IANS). Activity in India’s services sector remains strong, with the Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reaching a five-month high of 58.8 in April. This is the best PMI figure since November 2025. This information was given in the HSBC India Services PMI data released on Wednesday.
Earlier in March, HSBC Services PMI data stood at 57.5.
Survey participants said new business has grown at the fastest pace in the past five months, benefiting from competitive pricing, e-commerce activity and strong demand for relocation and logistics services.
“Activity and new orders remained strong despite a decline in new export orders, suggesting demand is shifting from overseas markets to domestic consumers amid the Middle East conflict,” said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC.
On the cost front, input price inflation has moderated slightly since March.
Despite higher cost pressures, output price inflation remained relatively low, suggesting that some firms bore the increased costs themselves rather than passing them on to customers.
However, service companies remain optimistic for the year ahead as they are buoyed by strong demand, marketing initiatives and increased customer enquiries. However, the sentiment softened slightly due to geopolitical tensions and concerns over cost pressures.
Meanwhile, hiring activity picked up across the region, with companies hiring short-term employees and junior-level workers to meet rising demand.
At a broader level, India’s private sector activity also picked up pace in April, leading the HSBC composite PMI output index to 58.2 from 57 in March.
Meanwhile, India’s manufacturing PMI rose to 54.7 in April, up from 53.9 in March, as output, new orders (including exports) and employment all increased marginally.
–IANS
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