India's business activity surges in June on strong demand, record export orders, PMI shows
India's private sector activity surged in June, reaching a 14-month high, driven by strong domestic and international demand, record export growth, and robust hiring, according to the HSBC Flash India Composite PMI. The index rose to 61.0 from May's 59.3, marking nearly four years of continuous expansion.
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
India's private sector activity accelerated sharply in June as companies ramped up production to meet surging domestic and international demand, according to a survey released on Monday that showed record export growth and robust hiring.The HSBC Flash India Composite Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by S&P Global, jumped to a 14-month high of 61.0 this month from 59.3 in May, exceeding a Reuters poll forecast for a modest lift to 59.4.The 50-mark separates growth from contraction and the latest data showed nearly four years of sustained expansion.Services gained momentum with the activity index rising to 60.7 from May's 58.8 - the strongest since August last year - while manufacturing gained pace thanks to robust output. Its PMI climbed to 58.4 in June from 57.6."New export orders continued to fuel private sector business activity, especially in manufacturing," noted Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC.This expansion was driven by favorable demand as composite new orders grew at the fastest pace in 11 months. Goods producers experienced a more pronounced upturn than services firms.International sales saw a remarkable rise, with overall new export business at the highest since the data started to be collected in September 2014. However, service providers recorded slower growth in export business compared to last month."The combination of robust global demand and rising backlogs prompted manufacturers to increase hiring," added Bhandari.Manufacturing employment growth reached a peak not seen since the series began over two decades ago. Service providers also continued adding jobs at a solid pace, albeit slower than in May.Meanwhile, overall price pressures eased slightly with input cost inflation softening to a 10-month low, allowing firms to limit price hikes to remain competitive. That resulted in a slower rate of output price rises from May's six-month high.That comes after data showed inflation eased to an over 6-year low in May, allowing the Reserve Bank of India to focus on supporting economic growth and cutting interest rates amid rising uncertainty from U.S. trade tariffs.Despite positive private sector performance, business confidence dipped to its lowest in just over two years. Manufacturers expressed slightly improved optimism while service providers tempered their expectations for the coming year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
13 minutes ago
- NDTV
DeepSeek Aids China's Military And Evaded Export Controls: US Official
Washington: AI firm DeepSeek is aiding China's military and intelligence operations, a senior U.S. official told Reuters, adding that the Chinese tech startup sought to use Southeast Asian shell companies to access high-end semiconductors that cannot be shipped to China under U.S. rules. Hangzhou-based DeepSeek sent shockwaves through the technology world in January, claiming its artificial intelligence reasoning models were on par with or better than U.S. industry-leading models at a fraction of the cost. "We understand that DeepSeek has willingly provided and will likely continue to provide support to China's military and intelligence operations," a senior State Department official told Reuters in an interview. "This effort goes above and beyond open-source access to DeepSeek's AI models," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to speak about U.S. government information. The U.S. government's assessment of DeepSeek's activities and links to the Chinese government have not been previously reported and come amid a wide-scale U.S.-China trade war. Among the allegations, the official said DeepSeek is sharing user information and statistics with Beijing's surveillance apparatus. Chinese law requires companies operating in China to provide data to the government when requested. But the suggestion that DeepSeek is already doing so is likely to raise privacy and other concerns for the firm's tens of millions of daily global users. The U.S. also maintains restrictions on companies it believes are linked to China's military-industrial complex. U.S. lawmakers have previously said that DeepSeek, based on its privacy disclosure statements, transmits American users' data to China through "backend infrastructure" connected to China Mobile, a Chinese state-owned telecommunications giant. DeepSeek did not respond to questions about its privacy practices. The company is also referenced more than 150 times in procurement records for China's People's Liberation Army and other entities affiliated with the Chinese defense industrial base, said the official, adding that DeepSeek had provided technology services to PLA research institutions. Reuters could not independently verify the procurement data. The official also said the company was employing workarounds to U.S. export controls to gain access to advanced U.S.-made chips. The U.S. conclusions reflect a growing skepticism in Washington that the capabilities behind the rapid rise of one of China's flagship AI enterprises may have been exaggerated and relied heavily on U.S. technology. DeepSeek has access to "large volumes" of U.S. firm Nvidia's high-end H100 chips, said the official. Since 2022 those chips have been under U.S. export restrictions due to Washington's concerns that China could use them to advance its military capabilities or jump ahead in the AI race. "DeepSeek sought to use shell companies in Southeast Asia to evade export controls, and DeepSeek is seeking to access data centers in Southeast Asia to remotely access U.S. chips," the official said. The official declined to say if DeepSeek had successfully evaded export controls or offer further details about the shell companies. DeepSeek also did not respond to questions about its acquisition of Nvidia chips or the alleged use of shell companies. When asked if the U.S. would implement further export controls or sanctions against DeepSeek, the official said the department had "nothing to announce at this time." China's foreign ministry and commerce ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. "We do not support parties that have violated U.S. export controls or are on the U.S. entity lists," an Nvidia spokesman said in a prepared statement, adding that "with the current export controls, we are effectively out of the China data center market, which is now served only by competitors such as Huawei." ACCESS TO RESTRICTED CHIPS DeepSeek has said two of its AI models that Silicon Valley executives and U.S. tech company engineers have showered with praise - DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1 - are on par with OpenAI and Meta's most advanced models. AI experts, however, have expressed skepticism, arguing the true costs of training the models were likely much higher than the $5.58 million the startup said was spent on computing power. Reuters has previously reported that U.S. officials were investigating whether DeepSeek had access to restricted AI chips. DeepSeek has H100 chips that it procured after the U.S. banned Nvidia from selling those chips to China, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, adding that the number was far smaller than the 50,000 H100s that the CEO of another AI startup had claimed DeepSeek possesses in a January interview with CNBC. Reuters was unable to verify the number of H100 chips DeepSeek has. "Our review indicates that DeepSeek used lawfully acquired H800 products, not H100," an Nvidia spokesman said, responding to a Reuters query about DeepSeek's alleged usage of H100 chips. In February, Singapore charged three men with fraud in a case domestic media have linked to the movement of Nvidia's advanced chips from the city state to DeepSeek. China has also been suspected of finding ways to use advanced U.S. chips remotely. While importing advanced Nvidia chips into China without a license violates U.S. export rules, Chinese companies are still allowed to access those same chips remotely in data centers in non-restricted countries. The exceptions are when a Chinese company is on a U.S. trade blacklist or the chip exporter has knowledge that the Chinese firm is using its chips to help develop weapons of mass destruction. U.S. officials have not placed DeepSeek on any U.S. trade blacklists yet and have not alleged that Nvidia had any knowledge of DeepSeek's work with the Chinese military. Malaysia's trade ministry said last week that it was investigating whether an unnamed Chinese company in the country was using servers equipped with Nvidia chips for large language model training and that it was examining whether any domestic law or regulation had been breached.
Time of India
13 minutes ago
- Time of India
Nancy Pelosi outperforms major hedge funds with jaw-dropping gains in 2024, leaves Wall Street pros in the dust
Nancy Pelosi, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California), and her spouse, Paul Pelosi, have been making some quiet waves on Wall Street and have accumulated investment gains that outperform every large hedge fund and the S&P 500, as per a report. Nancy Pelosi and Husband's Net Worth New financial filings disclose that the pair's net value rose to about $413 million in 22024 from $370 million in 2023, as per the New York Post. While legislators are required to disclose only net worth ranges, a market research company such as Quiver Quantitative estimated that the Pelosi portfolio is at about $257 million based on daily stock values it tracks, which is a $26 million jump from 2023, according to the report. Diverse Business Ventures Add to Fortune However, the couple's net worth would be much higher than that because of their other ventures, which include but are not limited to a Napa Valley winery, ownership in a political data and consulting firm and a stake in a Bay area Italian restaurant, reported the New York Post. ALSO READ: US bombs Iran: Tehran sends chilling coffins message to Trump as fears of World War III rises Live Events Smart Trading Strategy in Paul Pelosi's Name But a massive portion of their fortune has come from a sizable stock portfolio and timely trades, all done in Paul Pelosi's name, as per the report. Bloomberg reported that the couple's investment portfolio has gained an estimated 54% return in 2024, which is more than double the S&P 500's 25% gain, and also beating every large hedge fund. A spokesperson told, 'Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks, and she has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions,' quoted the New York Post. Early 2025 Moves Signal More Gains The couple also started off 2025 with a good start as they bought call options in January for the then-little-known artificial intelligence health firm, Tempus AI, which has since inked a $200 million deal with AstraZeneca and doubled its stock price, reported New York Post. Nancy and Paul also took out call options for energy company Vistra, whose stock rose last month after it announced a $1.9 billion deal to acquire natural gas facilities across the country from a private equity firm, as per the report. FAQs How much did Nancy and Paul Pelosi make in 2024? They added between $7.8 million and $42.5 million to their net worth last year, as per New York Post. Is Nancy Pelosi directly involved in these trades? No, a spokesperson says she doesn't own stocks or participate in trading, and most activity is in Paul Pelosi's name, as per the report.
Hindustan Times
31 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
DGCA begins detailed audit at Air India's Gurugram base after fatal Ahmedabad crash
Aviation regulator DGCA on Monday commenced the detailed audit at Air India's main base in Gurugram that will cover operations, flight scheduling, rostering and various other areas, according to a source. Aviation regulator DGCA begins safety audit at Air India's Gurugram base after crash. (Reuters File) The Tata Group-owned airline has come under intense scrutiny after its London-bound Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane crashed soon after take-off in Ahmedabad on June 12, killing 270 people, including 241 people onboard. An eight-member team from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has started the annual audit of Air India's main base. Generally, a three-member team carries out the yearly audit, the source said. "DGCA has started the audit at Air India's main base at Gurugram. The annual exercise will cover all aspects, including operations, flight planning, scheduling, rostering and IOCC (Integrated Operations Control Centre)," the source said. Air India is headquartered in Gurugam, Haryana. The audit exercise also comes at a time when the regulator has taken action against some Air India officials for repeated safety lapses. On June 21, DGCA sought details on the airline's planned and unplanned inspections, audit, cockpit/en route, station facility, ramp and cabin inspection, among others, from its flight operations inspectors since 2024. The communication was sent out a day after the regulator issued a show-cause notice to the airline for Flight Duty Time Limitation (FDTL) violation and also ordered the removal of the airline's three senior officials from their respective roles for certain lapses. Meanwhile, DGCA has also put in place a new framework for comprehensive special audits to generate a 360-degree evaluation of the aviation ecosystem, reflecting both its strengths and areas needing improvement. These special audits will be over and above the regulatory audits carried out as per the Annual Surveillance Programme.
