Firms hired additional hands to keep up with the production demand
Manufacturers indicated that the ongoing relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions, better market conditions and improved demand helped them to secure new work in October.
Reflecting a loss of "growth momentum", manufacturing activities in the country slowed down to a six-month low in March amid softer increases in new orders, production and employment, according to a survey.
India's services sector activities improved further and expanded at strongest rate in over 11 years in May, supported by a substantial pick-up in new business growth, even as input cost inflation climbed to a record high, a monthly survey said on Friday. The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Services PMI Business Activity Index jumped to 58.9 in May, up from 57.9 in April, amid better underlying demand and strong inflows of new work. For the tenth straight month, the services sector witnessed an expansion in output.
Firms said subdued demand conditions, unfair pricing among competitors and economic woes affected the sector.
The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), fell from 52.1 in February to a five-month low of 51.0 in March, indicating the slowest improvement in operating conditions recorded by the survey since last October.
On the job front, Indian service providers continued to add to their payrolls and the sector witnessed the second-strongest increase in employment since March 2011.
The IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index improved from 52.7 in November to 53.3 in December, highlighting the second-strongest rate of increase in output in over a year, after July. However, the overall level of positive sentiment remained below its long-run average.
India's manufacturing sector activities witnessed the strongest rate of growth in three months in July amid improved demand conditions and easing of some local COVID-19 restrictions, a monthly survey said on Monday. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose from 48.1 in June to 55.3 in July, pointing to the strongest rate of growth in three months. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction.
Salary increments in India will touch a five-year high of 9.9 per cent in 2022 as organisations are planning to invest in new-age capabilities to build a resilient workforce amid strong economic recovery and positive business sentiment, a survey said on Wednesday. According to leading global professional services firm Aon's 26th Salary Increase Survey in India, organizations across industries project a 9.9 per cent salary increase in 2022, compared to 9.3 per cent in 2021. The study that analysed data across 1,500 companies from more than 40 industries, noted that the industries with the highest projected salary increases are e-commerce and venture capital, hitech/IT and IT enabled services (ITeS) and life sciences.
A majority 56 per cent Indian employees would rather save more as compared to 29 per cent who would prefer to work a few years longer.
India's manufacturing sector activities improved in September as companies benefited from strengthening demand conditions amid the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, a monthly survey said on Friday. The seasonally adjusted IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) improved from 52.3 in August to 53.7 in September, indicating a stronger expansion in overall business conditions across the sector. The September PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the third straight month. In PMI parlance, a print above 50 means expansion while a score below 50 denotes contraction.
Economist Jayati Ghosh noted that the word 'freebies' indicates the class position of those who use it.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned on Tuesday that India's general government debt (comprising both central and state government debt) could exceed 100 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the medium term. It also cautioned that long-term debt sustainability risks are high due to the significant investment required to meet India's climate change mitigation targets. The Indian government, however, disagreed, arguing that risks from sovereign debt are extremely limited as it is predominantly denominated in domestic currency.
However, predictions that economic conditions will normalise after the elections underpinned optimism regarding the outlook and supported a stronger upturn in employment.
India's economy is projected to slow to 6.5 per cent in the fiscal year starting April but will remain the fastest growing major economy in the world as it fared better in dealing with the extraordinary set of challenges the globe has faced, the Economic Survey 2022-23 said on Tuesday. India's gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 6.5 per cent in 2023-24 compares with an estimated 7 per cent expansion in current fiscal year (April 2022 to March 2023) and 8.7 per cent in the previous year. Like the rest of the world, India too faced an extraordinary set of challenges in tightening financial conditions and supply chain disruptions from a prolonged war in Europe but "withstood them better than most economies", the annual document detailing the state of the economy said.
Many CEOs said they plan to give special leave to women employees so as to encourage their participation in the workforce.
The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) slipped from 57.5 in September to 55.5 in October, the slowest rate of expansion since February. The October PMI data pointed to an improvement in overall operating conditions for the 28th straight month.
The recovery in the Indian services sector was sustained in November as new work orders supported business activity growth and the first rise in employment in nine months, a monthly survey said on Thursday.
India's services sector activity surged to a seven-year high in January driven by sharp increase in new business orders, leading to job creation and business optimism amid favourable market conditions, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The IHS Markit India Services Business Activity Index rose from 53.3 in December to 55.5 in January, signalling the strongest upturn in output in seven years.
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The subdued labour market is likely to recover.
Direct economic stimulus measures such as tax cuts for individuals and industry would have helped to prop up the Indian economy which was hit hard by the lockdowns across several states in India, say economists and corporate leaders. While the measures announced on Monday are focussed more on the supply side, these steps would take a lot of time to move the needle for the economy.
The services sector had slipped into contraction in July as confusion caused by the GST rollout triggered a dip in new business orders.
Amid fears of a third wave of coronavirus pandemic and hardening of retail inflation, the Reserve Bank is likely to maintain status quo on interest rate and watch the developing macroeconomic situation for some more time before taking any decisive action on monetary policy. The RBI is scheduled to announce its bi-monthly monetary policy review on August 6 at the end of the three-day meeting -- August 4-6 -- of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The RBI Governor-headed six-member MPC decides on the key policy rates.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to step up efforts to boost consumption and rural economy while keeping inflation under check when she presents her sixth straight Budget on February 1. Experts said one way to boost consumption is to put more money in the hands of people, and one of the possible ways of doing it is by reducing the tax burden through tinkering with tax slabs or increasing the standard deduction. Another proposal is related to increasing the funds under the rural employment guarantee scheme MGNREGA and higher payout for farmers.
Services companies continued to raise prices, though the rate of change was the weakest since April
Although growth picked up slightly across the world's main emerging markets on an average, rates of expansion remain subdued
A reading above 50 represents expansion while one below means contraction.
Just about 54 per cent of employers predict fresh job creation in the second half of this year whereas the same sentiment was shared by 68 per cent entities at the start of 2013, while salary hikes too are expected to be on the lower side, said the survey.
'It is building the country's infrastructure, and delivering it very efficiently.'
The HSBC/Markit purchasing managers index for the manufacturing industry stood at 50.1 in July, slightly more than 50.3 in June, indicating a broad stagnation of manufacturing operating conditions in India.
The HSBC Emerging Markets Index, a monthly indicator derived from Purchasing Managers' Index surveys, inched up to 50.6 in May from 50.4 in April, indicating weak output growth across global emerging markets.
Pragmatism and flexibility is a virtue. An untethered and short-term approach to policymaking is a flaw, argues Mihir S Sharma.
Ahead of the Economic Survey, industry body Ficci today lowered its GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal, pegging India's economic expansion rate at 5.3 per cent compared to its 5.5 per cent previous estimate.
The headline HSBC India Purchasing Managers' Index -- a composite gauge designed to give a single-figure snapshot of manufacturing business conditions -- stood at 53.3 in November significantly higher from 51.6 in October.
Employees in India will see their salaries increase by an average of 10.9 per cent in 2015, but high inflation will end up eroding much of their wages, says a report.
Although there is headroom for further monetary policy action, at this juncture it is important to keep our arsenal dry and use it judiciously: RBI's Das.
Corporate leaders said a stable government at the Centre will help boost infrastructure spend, address agricultural distress, and encouraging employment.
'Returns can be very variable in equity markets.' 'That is why I tell small investors don't put 100 per cent of your money in equities, even if you are young.'
10 high dividend paying stocks across sectors that are expected to maintain or even increase their pay-outs in FY23 thanks to faster earnings growth in the last four quarters.
