India’s business activity slowed down to 59.3 so far in September from 60.7 a month back, according to preliminary results of a private survey.

The HSBC Flash India Composite Output Index fell below 60 for the first time in nine months, though the composite index still traded above its long-run average, showed the survey released on September 23.

"The flash composite PMI in India rose at a slightly slower pace in September, marking the slowest growth observed in 2024. Both the manufacturing and service sectors exhibited similar trends during the month," said Pranjul Bhandari, chief India economist at HSBC.

The manufacturing activity eased to 56.7 from 57.5 a month back, while services activity slowed down to 58.9 in September from 60.9 in the previous month.

Both manufacturing and services had held steady in the first quarter, with manufacturing scaling 7 percent growth in Q1FY25 as against 5 percent in the previous year.

On the other hand, services growth had risen to a four-quarter high of 7.3 percent from 6.7 percent in the previous quarter.