Live news: Modi praises ‘fintech revolution’; India services activity grows

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Latest live news: Activity in India’s dominant services sector continued to grow at a robust pace last month supported by a strong recovery in domestic demand, a private survey showed, but elevated price pressures remained a major concern.

The Services Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by IHS Markit, eased to 58.1 in November from 58.4 in October, but last month’s rate of growth was the second-best in over a decade and well above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for a fourth straight month.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated a conference on financial technology (fintech) that will have business leaders and policymakers in attendance.

Indians have shown “immense trust” in fintech and it is the sector’s responsibility to respect them, said Modi as his government prepares to table before Parliament a Bill that will regulate digital currencies.

India reported its first two cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant on Thursday but the government said it had no immediate plan to authorise booster vaccine shots despite demands from lawmakers.

The union health ministry said two male patients with the new strain, aged 66 and 46 years, had shown mild symptoms in Karnataka.