India services growth hits 17-month high in June

Activity in India's services sector grew at its fastest pace in well over a year in June as new business poured in, adding to signs of a pick-up in the economy even as inflation remains high, a survey showed on Thursday, reports Reuters. The HSBC Services Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by Markit, jumped to a 17-month high of 54.4 in June from 50.2 in May.
That was the biggest one-month rise in the index in four years. Before May, the services PMI had been stuck below 50, which divides growth from contraction, for almost a year.
The data supports growing optimism among Indian firms that the new government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will push through reforms after years of policy paralysis.