February shows strengthening new business inflows in India: Nikkei

India's services sector registered upturns in output, new business inflows and employment too showing a solid increase during February, according to a private survey released on Tuesday.

The Nikkei India services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 52.5 in February from 52.2 in January. Quicker expansion in new work supported faster increase in output.

Output, although at a moderate rate, showed an upturn with companies securing new clients and experiencing greater bookings. Business sentiment also improved because of expectations of further recovery in domestic demand, advertising efforts and offering of new services.

A reading above 50 indicates economic expansion, while a reading below 50 points toward contraction.

"The PMI survey showed faster increases in new work and business activity supporting one of the best upturns in jobs for eight years," said Pollyanna De Lima, Principal Economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.

However, she said in a statement that "these results confirmed a growing performance mismatch between manufacturing and services. Goods-producing companies outperformed their services counterparts for the seventh straight month, with the gap in output performance the widest for a year."

.