A business survey has found that India's services sector activity touched an eight-month high in October. This was driven by a significant rise in new business orders even as growth in manufacturing output eased. The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Composite PMI Output index, which maps both manufacturing and services sectors, rose to 52.6 in October from 51.5 in September helped by new businesses. October data also indicated that services sector employment remained unchanged. Around 98 per cent of respondents reported no change in payroll numbers since the preceding month. On the prices front, average input costs rose in both services and manufacturing sectors, though at a slower pace.