Growing Service Sectors Of India Economics Essay

Prime Ministers budget speech as the finance minister of India, presented the finances of a country that was nearly bankrupt and slayed the licence raj, thereby changing the lives of not just India’s 84 crore citizens then but those of another 36 crore citizens who have been born since.

As given below in pictorial form that our Per Capita Income (@ constant prices) has seen a huge increase last few decades, that is from 8,091 in 1970-71 to 41,129 in 2010-11.

With increase in per capita income the poverty rate has also fallen down to 35% from 65%, which used to be and still is a big issue in our economy.

How much has India changed since then? Since 1991, India’s GDP has quadrupled its forex reserves have surged from $5.8 billion to $279 billion, and exports from $18 billion to $178 billion.

But these are just numbers. The change in our lives and lifestyles is a lot more fascinating. Back in 1991, owning a Maruti 800 (Rs 1.48 lakh in Delhi) was a middle- class status symbol.

Apart from which as below image shows the Foreign Direct Investment has risen to $30.3 bn from $0.13 bn in 1990-91, plus the forex reserve is constantly rising from $0.91 bn in 1970-71 to $5.8 bn in 1990-91 and now to $274 bn in 2010-11.

Exports which has always been so crucial for any nation has also seen impressive increase in India, that is to low @ $2.1 billion to as high as $245 billion.

Scooters like Bajaj Chetak and Lambretta accounted for more than half of the two-wheelers sold in the country. A bottle of soft drink, be it desi versions like Gold Spot or Thums Up, cost just Rs 4.50.

Today, we are one of the consumption engines of the world as we are guzzling colas, downloading music on our iPads and zipping around in our sedans. The cola market is worth about Rs 10,000 crore, up from just Rs 200 crore in 1991.

Scooters, like we knew them, are almost dead. And all of this change can be traced back to that speech that Singh made twenty years ago.

Due to stagnant growth in service industry the standard of living among people has also increased as shown in picture above. The no. of subscribers in telecom service industry has increased to a great height and only reason behind the same is growing service industry which making people life’s more comfortable and easy. With growing income standard among people the level of spending the same has also increased as the average expenses in service industry has increased.

Various other changes proves that the shift of economy towards service sector is increasing and is not only changes the fate of people of India as well as the Indian Economy.

Here was a quick look at the road we have traveled since then and the milestones we have crossed. We have used 1971 data, whenever available, to demonstrate an even more radical change.

1971 was Socialist India. 2011 is India, still with many problems, a flourishing market economy.

Q2. Identify three service sectors of Indian Economy which are likely to be dominant in the next five years? How do you visualize their impact on Indian Economy? Support your answers with facts and figures.

Ans:- India’s journey on the path of economic reforms has transformed it to one of the world’s fastest growing economies. Its large and growing population is its best asset and can quadruple GDP and catapult India to the league of developed economies over the next decade. All this if a billion could be transformed into a productive workforce.

For over half a decade now, India has been chanting the demographic mantra with little real progress. Because, with opportunities come challenges. The services sector needs many million knowledge workers. Lack of employability is endemic. India’s large labour force has been stubborn in transition. Over 90% of the labour force is inadequately trained.

Jobs continue to be created, needing an educated workforce and many in sunrise sub-sectors. We need to recognise new opportunities and prepare the supply side. Let us take a quick look at five existing sectors that are likely to hold us in good stead in the future in terms of employment generation and business growth.

Growing service Sectors of India and their Impact on Indian Econony :-

1. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:-

The IT sector has been India’s sunshine sector for quite some time now. The industry has contributed considerably to changing India’s image from a slow developing economy to a global player in providing world class technology solutions. According to the IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation) figures, the Indian IT industry is set to touch $225 billion by 2020.

Industry experts and NASSCOM say the Indian IT workforce will touch 30 million by 2020, becoming the highest sector employer. This will be coupled with steady increase in pay in a sector already offering a high base. The outsourcing industry too is looking towards India and is expected to be a $2.5 billion industry in the next 24 months.

2. HEALTHCARE:-

There are clear indications that healthcare is going to be a major sector that stimulates economic growth and contribute to employment.

Over 40 million new jobs are expected to be generated by 2020, as per a report titled ‘India’s New Opportunities-2020’ by the All India Management Association, Boston Consulting Group and the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). The Indian healthcare industry also has advantages over other developing countries in becoming a global hub for medical tourism. The medical treatment and educational services in India are a fraction of the cost in developed countries.

While we may lag in molecule development and drug patents, an increasing disposable income has led to a strong domestic market potential in India. This will result in significant employment generation across various functions, such as sales, marketing, HR, IT and operations, within the industry. Heathcare service are likely to be provided major employment opportunities in the country.

3. TELECOMMUNICATION:-

India’s telecom story is only getting better. According to Zinnov estimates, India already has nearly 850 million mobile phone subscribers, with a 15% smart phone penetration. All this points to a penetration that is fuelling the growth of enterprise mobility in India, which will lead to significant employment growth.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) too is targeting a 10-fold increase in broadband subscribers to100 million by 2014. Outsourcing revenues from the telecom sector, as per E&Y, are set to grow at a CAGR of 31% to nearly $2 billion in 2012. India today is at a stage in telecom growth that probably America was 30 years ago. Our mobile and Internet penetration has to increase further, resulting in a new era in enterprise mobility.

Today the Indian telecommunications network with over 375 Million subscribers issecond largest network in the world after China. India is also the fastest growing telecommarket in the world with an addition of 9- 10 million monthly subscribers. The tele-density of the Country has increased from 18% in 2006 to 33% in December 2008,showing a stupendous annual growth of about 50%, one of the highest in any sector of the Indian Economy.

4. INFRASTRUCTURE :-

India’s infrastructure growth has been exponential over the past decade. Today, we are the fourth largest and probably the second-fastest growing economy, with infrastructure being one of the cornerstones. The infrastructure industry in India is highly fragmented and hence difficult to gunge its exact size and the jobs it generates each year in absolute terms.

However, be it roads and highways, railways, aviation, shipping, energy, power or oil & gas, the Indian government and the various state governments seem to making rapid progress. This has led to significant employment generation, though a majority of it is still in the unorganised sector. Over the next 10 years, the infrastructure sector in India will need to continue its growth momentum and is likely to maintain a growth rate anywhere between 7-10%, a very healthy sign.

5.RETAIL:-

Over the past few months, the retail sector has grabbed headlines with talks of 100% FDI in single brand retail, which is currently capped at 51%. While the outcome is still undecided, the opening up of India’s retail will create a stronger, organised industry that will help in generating employment.

Today, only a small part of retail in India is organised. Despite this, it is estimated that the sector in India is worth more than $400 billion, with domestic and international players planning to expand across the country. Industry leaders predict that the next phase of growth will emerge from rural markets. There are projections of the workforce doubling by 2015, from the current five lakhs in both organised and unorganised sector.

Q3. Identify three reasons for the growth in the services sectors in the Indian context ?

Ans:- Service sector is the lifeline for the social economic growth of a country. It is today the largest and fastest growing sector globally contributing more to the global output and employing more people than any other sector.

Services or the “tertiary sector” of the economy covers a wide gamut of activities like trading, banking & finance, infotainment, real estate, transportation, security, management & technical consultancy among several others.

In alignment with the global trends, Indian service sector has witnessed a major boom and is one of the major contributors to both employment and national income in recent times. The activities under the purview of the service sector are quite diverse. Trading, transportation and communication, financial, real estate and business services, community, social and personal services come within the gambit of the service industry.

One of the key service industry in India would be health and education. They are vital for the country’s economic stability. A robust healthcare system helps to create a strong and diligent human capital, who in turn can contribute productively to the nation’s growth.

REASONS FOR THE GROWTH OF SERVICES IN INDIA:-

Economic affluence: One, of the key factors for the growth of demand for services is the economic affluence. According to the NCAER study the size of the middle income consumer is raising fast and the percentage of the very poor household’s declining. The rural households in the upper income category is growing at a much faster pace than the urban households in the corresponding categories. The Economic liberalisation Process has had a positive impact on the Indian households. Their income as well as their expenditure has been pushed, creating a demand for many goods and services.

2. Changing Role of Women: Traditionally the Indian woman was confined to household activities. But with the changing time there has been a change in the traditional way of thinking in the society. Women are now allowed to work. They are employed in defence services, police services, postal services, software services, health services, hospital services, entertainment industries, Business Process Outsourcing and so on.

The percentage of working women has been growing rapidly. The changing role of women has created a market for a number of product and services. Earning women prefer to hire services in order to minimise the innumerable roles that they are required to perform. The demand by woman is forcing service organisations to be more innovative in their approach.

3. Cultural Changes: Change is the underlying philosophy of culture place of change in Indian culture is not uniform. However, during the last century the factors of change are prominent. The emergence of the nuclear family system in place of the traditional joint family system creates a demand for a host of services like education, health care, entertainment, telecommunication, transport, tourism and so on. There has’ been a marked change in the thought Processes relating to investment, leisure time perception and so on which has created a huge demand for services.

4. I.T. Revolution: For the last 15 years India’6aste,en occupying a vital position in the area of Information Technology. IT became one of the key service businesses of the country. India has the largest software skilled population in the world. The domestic market as well as the international market has grown substantially. Realising the potential for this area many state governments have made IT as their most, prioritized segment states such as Karnntnka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh Maharashtra and Delhi have already achieved substantial progress in Information Technology the In Ile years to come ‘Lille IT enabled se Aces will have a bright future. The growth. of’ population, industrialisation and indiscriminate consumptions have affected the, natural resources, environment and the ecological balance. Due to this there is an imbalance of the ecology various service organisations have been promoted in order to take up social marketing. Thousands of crores of rupees are being spent on safeguarding the rare animals and birds, water pollution, conservation of oil & energy and research to develop new technologies that can promote effective use of natural resources and safeguard the environment.

5. Development of Markets: During the last few decades the wholesaler and the retailer population has grown in the country. Urban India has become a cluster of wholesaling and retailing business. In the Semi – urban areas, retailing has spread to the nooks and corners of the streets and in the rural areas retail business is significantly present. A new breed of organisations, offering marketing services has come up. The government also offers marketing services to the small-scale agricultural farmers, artisans and other traditional business sectors such ‘as promotion of regulated markets, export promotion councils, development boards etc.

6. Market orientation: The changing competitive situation and demand supply positions has forced the manufacturing organisation to shift their philosophy from production orientation to market orientation. Market is a service function that has been added in the organisation. The pressures in the market has further forced the manufacturing organisations to have marketing research, accounting, auditing, financial management, human resource management and marketing research divisions – all of which are services functions.

7. Health-Care Consciousness: In India, the healthcare market has grown substantially. The increased life expectancy is the result of the consciousness of the people regarding the health issues. The growth of fitness clubs, diagnostic centres, medical counselling, health-related information sites are the reflections of the growing demands for health care services. The government as well as the social organisations have taken up the mass campaigns in order to create awareness among the illiterate persons and the rural population on health service. Hence, the growth of health related services.

8. Economic liberalisation: The economic liberalisation of the 1991 has brought many changes in the Indian scenario. With the Disinvestment and the Privatisation policies the state owned monopolies in many service areas came to an end Multinationals were permitted to enter the Indian market. Liberal lending policies and lower interest rates motivated many people to become self-employed. Different sectors like Banking, Insurance, Power projects, Telecommunication, Hospitality sector, Health Services, Entertainment, Air transport, and Courier services witnessed intense competition, due to the entry of multinationals. The flow of time-tested service technology from various parts of the world changed the attitude of the Indian consumer towards sources.

9. Rampant migration: One of the important reasons for the growth of services in India is the rampant migration of rural to semi-urban and urban areas. Migration to urban areas for the want of jobs and livelihood has resulted in the expansion of cities and townships due to which businesses like real estates, rentals, transportation and infrastructure services are rapidly expanding.

10. Export potential: India is considered to be a Potential source for services. There are a number of services that India offers to various parts of the world like banking, insurance, transportation co data services, accounting services, construction labour, designing, entertainment, education, health services, software services and tourism. Tourism and software services are among the major foreign exchange earners of the country and that the growth rate is also very high as compared to the other sectors.

11. Service tax: The growth in the service sector attracted the attention of the government as a tax generating source. Over the years, the number of services brought under service tax has increased- Service tax is levied on hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and communications, financial services, real states, business services and social and personal services.

12. New products: IT has given rise to PCOs, pager service providers, web shoppers etc.

The contribution of the Services Sector in the Indian GDP has also increased very rapidly as many foreign consumers have shown interest in the country’s service exports. This is due to the fact that India has a large pool of highly skilled, low cost, and educated workers in the country. This has made sure that the services that are available in the country are of the best quality. Foreign companies seeing this have outsourced their work to India especially in the area of business services which includes business process outsourcing and information technology services. This has given a major boost to the Services Sector in India, which in its turn has made the sector contribute more to the India GDP.

13 Others:- growth of the service sector is due to the increase in urbanization, privatization and more demand for intermediate and final consumer services. Availability of quality services is vital for the well being of the economy.