India’s services sector recovers lost ground, domestic market fuels growth in April: HSBC India Services PMI

India’s services sector recovered some of the ground lost in March, accelerating growth in April, the first month of the new fiscal year, as new business intakes and output rose amid a relative easing of price pressures and positive demand push, particularly in the domestic market, a private survey showed on Wednesday.

The HSBC India Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, rose to 58.8 in April from 57.5 in March, when it expanded at the slowest pace in 14 months. The April growth was the strongest rate of expansion since last November.

Despite monthly swings, the index has remained above the 50-point threshold separating expansion from contraction for over four years – signalling the sector’s sustained resilience.

On the positive side, input costs and selling prices rose at a more measured pace and firms stayed optimistic about future prospects, the survey noted. Data showed that input costs rose at a softer rate, but it was still among the highest in about a year-and-a-half.

A great degree of cost absorption was highlighted by a relatively moderate rise in output charges that was the weakest in three months, said the survey.

Services firms signalled greater food (cooking oil, egg, meat and vegetables), gas and labour costs as well as shortages of gas. Only part of this additional cost burden was transferred to customers, as signalled by an increase in selling prices that was moderate in comparison.

According to the survey, the war in West Asia impacted the sector but a shift made by firms from international to domestic suppliers amid the war particularly boosted transport activity. However, external sales expanded at the weakest pace in five months, dampened by the war and subdued inbound tourism.

Accordingly, the seasonally adjusted New Export Business Index fell by more than five points and reached its second-lowest print in over a year (surpassing November 2025), the PMI services survey said.

Consumer services

Granular data showed that consumer services led April's expansion in new orders and output, followed by transport and information and communication. The main source of new business gains was the domestic market, but international orders also rose.

The HSBC India Services PMI draws on responses from roughly 400 companies across sectors such as consumer services (excluding retail), transport, information and communication, finance, insurance, real estate, and business services.

Despite some level of compression, Indian services companies were confident of a rise in output over the coming 12 months. The optimism was supported by forecasts of demand growth, marketing initiatives and rising client enquiries. However, the level of positive sentiment fell from March, dampened by worries surrounding the war in West Asia and cost pressures.

More hiring

Still, companies recruited more workers at the start of the first fiscal quarter. According to them, rising volumes of new business boosted the recruitment of short-term staff and junior-level trainees, the survey said.

Quicker expansion in employment was noted in each of the four broad areas of the service economy monitored by the survey. Sustained hiring growth enabled firms to reduce outstanding business levels for the first time in four months. The rate of backlog depletion was only marginal, however.

“Activity and new orders strengthened, even as new export orders eased, suggesting that demand is rotating from overseas markets to domestic consumers amid the Middle East conflict,” said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC. “Input cost inflation moderated but remained elevated, while output price inflation stayed subdued, indicating that some firms are absorbing higher costs rather than passing them on. India’s composite PMI also rose to 58.2 last month, up from 57.0 in March, pointing to renewed momentum across the manufacturing and services sectors."