The signs of a growing economy is directly linked to its earning from services sector, said Darpan Jain, IAS, Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
In many developed countries up to 95% of GDP comes from the services sector. Despite India having made headwinds in the sector, it still lags behind, he said at a media interaction here on Tuesday.
As per commerce ministry data, service sector contributes 60% to India’s GDP and 70% to Karnataka’s GDP. Some 55% of FDIs coming to India are from services sector which generates more employment than any other sector.
There is a huge potential for India in the $100 bn healthcare industry where India’s share is only about $1 billion. More than 1 crore people travel globally for healthcare every year and India receives only 2 to 3 lakhs out of this.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, in association with Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) and Confederation of Indian Industry (Cll) will organise the 5th Global Exhibition on Services (GES) between November 26 and 28 in the city.
In education, out of the 50 lakh students who travel abroad for higher studies globally, only about 45,000 come to India. In the civil aviation sector, India spends more than a $1 bn on maintenance (MRO), 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.
When it comes to services sector, the country has huge potential in tourism, said Sudhanshu Pandey, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
“In the $5.4 trillion global tourism market India’s current share is a mere $234 billion now. The country sees just 11 million foreign tourists every year which is a minuscule, and Karnataka alone has the potential to attract over 40 million tourists a year,” he insisted.
Focus on tourism
Commenting on Karnataka's commitment to emerge as a sizable player in tourism sector, minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries Jagadish Shettar said Karnataka was one of the fastest growing States in the country at 9.6%, a rate higher than the national average.
“We have been a pioneer in the service sector, a leader in IT/ITES. We are one of the top States in education, healthcare and biotechnology. We have increased our focus on tourism as well as Karnataka is home for many heritage sites, the Western Ghats, biodiversity hotspots and historical cities,” said the minister.
Sudhanshu Pandey, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry said, the Central government was committed to working with the States to draft policies that would improve the quality and potential of the service sector.
Published - November 19, 2019 10:54 pm IST
