India's dominant services sector, the lifeblood for economic growth and jobs, contracted in March as new business and export demand fell sharply as the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc globally, a private survey showed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered India's 1.3 billion people to stay home and shut shops and business selling non-essential goods for 21 days from March 25 to try and contain the virus spreading, suggesting April's downturn will be more severe.
The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index fell sharply to a five-month low of 49.3 in March from February's seven-year high of 57.5, below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for the first time since October. "Strong growth momentum seen so far in 2019
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