Service sector contributes 60 per cent of India’s GDP and 70 per cent to that of Karnataka. Over 55 per cent of FDIs in India are from services, said Darpan Jain, Joint Secretary, Union Department of Commerce and Industry.
Addressing the Global Exhibition on Services (GES) 2019, a curtain raiser event, he said service sector generates more employment than any other sector and has a huge potential for India in healthcare industry which is a $100 billion business globally with India’s share only about $1 billion. More than one crore people travel globally for healthcare every year but India receives only 2-3 lakhs.
The 5th Global Exhibition on Services (GES) will be held at Palace Grounds, Bengaluru from Novembver 26 to 28. GES is the largest services show in India and is expected to showcase India’s capability across various services sectors before a global audience. Delegates from over 100 countries are to participate in GES2019.
The sign of a growing economy is directly proportional to a higher contribution from the service sector. “In many developed countries up to 95 per cent of GDP comes from the service sector.,” Jain explained.
In education, out of the 50 lakh students travelling abroad for higher studies globally, only about 45,000 come to India. In the civil aviation sector India spends more than a billion dollars on maintenance, most of which is outsourced to other countries.
Similarly, in shipping India imports about $500 billion worth of goods every year and only a small fraction of this is on Indian carriers. Jain said that despite India’s prowess in IT industry there is still scope for much more as the global market is valued at $4 trillion.
Sudhanshu Pandey, Additional Secretary Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said very few States in India have policies to promote the service sector. The service sector creates the most jobs and it is higher in quality and pay. The Central Government is committed to working with the States to draft policies that will improve the quality and potential of the sector. Citing the tremendous potential in the sector he said that by 2022 financial services alone will be valued at $26.3 trillion and India’s economy is currently at $2.8 trillion. He added that India has huge potential in tourism. In the $5.4 trillion global tourism market India’s share is only $234 billion . The country sees just 11 million foreign tourists every year which is miniscule. According to him, Karnataka alone has the potential to attract over 40 million tourists every year.
Gaurav Gupta, Karnataka Principal Secretary, Department of Commerce and Industry, said that services will be the employer of the future. It is the highest contributor to Karnataka’s GDP and the State government is committed to develop it in a big way. While the IT sector is poised to grow there is tremendous potential of Karnataka in Healthcare, Tourism, Biotechnology and Education.