Mumbai, May 6 -- After experiencing a slowdown in March, growth of business activity in the Indian service sector accelerated slightly in April. This regained momentum was largely driven by a quicker increase in new order inflows, which also underpinned a faster expansion in employment.

Alongside this positive trend, capacity pressures continued to build, with unfinished work rising solidly. On the pricing front, average charges increased at a quicker pace, despite cost pressures retreating to a six-month low.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index reached 58.7 in April, up from 58.5 in March, indicating a sharp and stronger expansion in service sector output. The headline figure was above its long-run a...