New Delhi [India], India's services sector made a strong start in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024-25, with new business and output growth sharp and the fastest in 1 year, according to HSBC PMI data compiled by S&Global. . Apart from a surge in domestic demand, companies noted fresh trade gains in several parts of the world, which collectively underpinned a second quick jump in international sales, the HSBC India Services PMI released on Monday said, amid wage pressures and higher food prices. Prices meanwhile caused another rise. The COS burden, which companies partly pass on to their customers as measured by the HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index compiled by S&P Global, declined from 61.2 in March to 60.8 in April. Total new orders continued to grow at a stronger rate than exports. Growth in total sales was sharp, well above its long-term average and one of the strongest in 14 years "India's services activity grew at a slightly softer pace in April, with further growth in new orders, driven by notable domestic demand Sai Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC, said: "While new export orders remained strong, they saw a modest decline compared to March figures. In response to the increase in new orders, companies increased their staffing levels. “Expanded, though hiring slowed down. Costs continued to rise rapidly, though slower than in March, resulting in compressed margins for service companies…,” Bhandari said, citing resilient demand conditions. Due to this, there has been a significant improvement in overall confidence among service providers for the outlook for the coming year, Bhandari said. “In terms of overall activity, total output in both the manufacturing and services sectors increased significantly in April, albeit at a slightly slower pace.” at a pace, which indicates continued health in these areas.According to Goldman Sachs report, India's services exports grew by 4.4 per cent to US$ 339.62 billion in the financial year ending 2023-24, services exports are expected to double to US$ 800 billion by 2030, digitally delivered services In the case of, they have been growing for the last decade. Digitally delivered services broadly refer to services that are delivered remotely over computer networks, with India ranked third behind Ireland and Singapore in the list of top 10 services exporting countries in 2023. Business and management consultancy and public relations services expanded at 29 per cent in terms of compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in exports during 2020-21 and 2022-2 as compared to 2017-18 and 2019-20; engineering services 8.4 percent; advertising trade fair services 5.1 percent; other 4.8 percent; Research and development services 3.6 percent.