Question

Compare Tables “A” & “B” and answer the question given below.

Table- A
Share of Sectors in GDP in %
Year	Tertiary	Secondary	Primary
1973-74	50	10	40
2013-14	68	21	11

 

Table- B
Share of Sectors in employment in %
Year	Tertiary	Secondary	Primary
1977-78	18	11	71
2017-18	31	25	44

A remarkable fact about India is that while there has been a change in the share of the three sectors in GDP, a similar shift has not taken place in employment. Why didn’t a similar shift out of primary sector happen in case of employment? Substantiate your answer.

Answer 1

Substantial shift in employment in primary Sector hasn’t happened because of the following reasons.

1. Insufficient job creation in the secondary and tertiary sectors: The primary reason for the limited shift in employment from the primary sector is the failure to generate an adequate number of jobs in the secondary (industrial) and tertiary (service) sectors. The growth of industrial output and service sector production has been significant, but the corresponding increase in employment opportunities has been comparatively lower.
2. Underemployment in the agricultural sector: The primary sector, particularly agriculture, suffers from underemployment, with more people engaged in farming than necessary. Even if a few individuals are moved out of agriculture, it does not significantly affect the production. This indicates that workers in the agricultural sector are not fully utilized, leading to a lower productivity level.
3. Share of Sectors in Employment though industrial output or the production of goods went up by more than nine times during the period, employment in the industry went up by around three times. The same applies to the tertiary sector as well. While production in the service sector rose by 14 times, employment in the service sector rose around five times. As a result, more than half of the workers in the country are working in the primary sector, mainly in agriculture, producing only about one sixth of the GDP. In contrast to this, the secondary and tertiary sectors produce the rest of the produce whereas they employ less about half the people.