New Delhi: India’s services sector activities continued to be strong in the month of September 2023 driven primarily by robust domestic demand and an upturn in demand from overseas clients.
According to S&P Global survey published on Thursday, India’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 61.0 in September from 60.1 in August.
“The latest PMI results brought more positive news for India’s service economy, with September seeing business activity and new work intakes rising to one of the greatest extents in over 13 years. Besides demand strength domestically, firms noted higher international sales to Asia, Europe and North America,” said Pollyanna De Lima, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The services sector which contributes over 50% to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) has been one the key growth drivers of the economy.
The latest S&P Global survey said that service sector growth in India strengthened in September, as a positive demand environment boosted intakes of new business and output volumes.
“With workloads rising and capacities experiencing mild pressure, job numbers continued to increase at a historically high rate. Services firms retained positive expectations for activity, with sentiment improving to its highest level in over nine years,” the survey said.
The S&P Global 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.
The latest survey data showed a substantial increase in new business placed with Indian service providers during September this year, one that was the second-fastest since June 2010. Anecdotal evidence indicated that market dynamics remained favourable, supporting demand. Advertising was also cited as a key factor boosting sales.
“Buoyant demand for Indian goods and services underpinned the second-sharpest increase in aggregate new business for over 13 years in September. Both the manufacturing and service economies recorded substantial expansions, but a slowdown in the former compared with an acceleration in the latter,” S&P Global said.
