New Delhi, Sept. 3 -- India's services activity expanded at a quicker pace midway through the second fiscal quarter, with the headline HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rising from 53.3 in July to 54.1 in August.

According to the latest HSBC India Services PMI report, supportive demand conditions and an increase in new business inflows drove the rise in business activity. Despite this acceleration, the overall rate of expansion remained the second-weakest in nearly four-and-a-half years, since March 2022 and stayed fractionally below the long-run average of 54.5.

Pranjul Bhandari, Chief India Economist at HSBC, said, "India's services activity expanded faster in August. Growth was supported by stronger output and new busin...