NEW DELHI (TIP): The HSBC’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI)—a measure of factory production—stood at 52.8 in September 2012. The September PMI reading was supported by faster output growth and rising export orders, as per the HSBC survey. The index has remained above the 50 mark for more than three years now, below which it indicates contraction. “Economic activity in the manufacturing sector held steady supported by faster output growth and rising export orders,” according to Mr Leif Eskesen, Chief Economist for India and the ASEAN, HSBC. The Government of India has taken number of initiatives to boost the economy such as allowing multi-brand retail sector to foreign direct investment (FDI), hiking diesel prices by over Rs 5 a litre, plugging the number of subsidised LPG cylinders to six per family a year, allowing foreign carriers to pick up stake in domestic airlines besides liberalising FDI rules for broadcasting sector. In addition, HSBC highlighted that job creation, on the employment front, was recorded in September 2012, the seventh successive month of growth. Payroll numbers increased to meet stronger demand, with some signalling expansions in marketing departments.