India’s services activity suffered a shock collapse in April as the coronavirus lockdown crippled global demand, causing a historic spike in layoffs and reinforcing fears of a deep recession in Asia’s third-largest economy, a private survey showed. The grim result for the industry, the engine of economic growth and jobs, underlined the pandemic’s sweeping impact across India as authorities extended a nationwide lockdown, in effect since March 25, until May 17. The Nikkei/IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers’ Index plunged to an eye-popping 5.4 in April from March’s 49.3, an unprecedented contraction since the survey first began over 14 years ago.
