Mumbai, June 3 -- India's services economy recorded robust growth in May, driven by rising demand for freight, digital solutions, e-commerce, entertainment, and IT. The HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index climbed from 58.8 in April to 59.8 in May, marking the fastest expansion since last November.

Healthy demand conditions, new client wins, and stronger new business intakes supported this momentum. New orders rose at the quickest pace in six months, while export demand also grew, with gains from markets such as Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, the UAE, and the UK.

Companies responded by increasing activity and adding jobs, though hiring remained limited to fewer than 7% of surveyed firms. Cost pressur...