Question

Over the forty years between 1973-74 and 2013-14, while production in all the three sectors has increased, it has increased the most in the tertiary sector. As a result, in the year 2013-14, the tertiary sector has emerged as the largest producing sector in India replacing the primary sector. Why do you think tertiary sector has become so popular in India? Support your answer giving any 3 reasons.

Answer 1

1. In any country, several services such as hospitals, educational institutions, post and telegraph services, police stations, courts, village administrative offices, municipal corporations, defence, transport, banks, insurance companies, etc. are required; these can be considered as basic services. In a developing country, the government must take responsibility for the provision of these services.
2. The development of agriculture and industry leads to the development of services such as transport, trade, storage and the like, as we have already seen. Greater the development of the primary and secondary sectors, more would be the demand for such services.
3. As income levels rise, certain sections of people start demanding many more services like eating out, tourism, shopping, private hospitals, private schools, professional training, etc. You can see this change quite sharply in cities, especially in big cities.
4. Over the past decade or so, certain new services, such as those based on information and communication technology, have become important and essential. The production of these services has been rising rapidly.
5. Nevertheless, the service sector in India employs many different kinds of people. At one end, there are a limited number of services that employ highly skilled and educated workers. At the other end, there are a very large number of workers engaged in services such as small shopkeepers, repair persons, transport persons, etc. These people barely manage to earn a living and yet they perform these services because no alternative opportunities for work are available to them. Hence, only a part of this sector is growing in importance.