RAS question
According to HSBC PMI data, India's private-sector business activity in March 2026 slowed to what level?
Correct answer: (B) Three-year low.
India's private-sector business activity in March 2026 slowed to its weakest pace in over three years.
Explanation
In the March 2026 HSBC Flash India PMI, private-sector activity lost clear momentum. The Composite Output Index, which combines manufacturing output and services business activity, fell from 58.9 in February to 56.5 in March. Because a reading above 50 still signals expansion, the economy was not contracting; the key point is that the pace of growth had weakened to the lowest level in more than three years, effectively a three-year low. The slowdown was linked to softer domestic demand, with firms also citing the West Asia conflict, unstable market conditions and inflationary pressure as factors weighing on output and new orders.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) One-year low understates the slowdown because the March 2026 expansion was the weakest since late 2022, not merely since March 2025.
- (C) Five-year low overstates the fall because the weakest expansion was close to three-and-a-half years, not back to 2021 or earlier.
- (D) Decade low is far beyond the evidence because the Composite Output Index remained above 50 and the low was over three years, not ten years.
Concept
High-frequency macroeconomic indicators such as the PMI provide monthly signals for manufacturing and services momentum. RAS current-economy coverage repeatedly connects such indicators with core concepts like growth, demand and inflation pressure.