The document discusses the growth and importance of India's service sector over the past decades. It traces the rise of the service sector from contributing 41% of GDP in 1990-1991 to over 54% in recent years. Key drivers of growth included urbanization, privatization, and increasing demand for consumer and intermediate services. Subsectors like IT, ITES, retail, and financial services experienced major booms after economic liberalization. However, the benefits of growth have not been evenly distributed, and India still faces challenges in areas like agriculture, rural development, and improving social indicators.

1. 1. Trace the performance of service sector in India’s economy over the last decades. Analyze the
importance of this sector by discussing the role of services in contributing to GDP, employment
generation and other socio-economic dimensions.
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.
The real reason for the 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.
In advanced economies the growth in the primary and secondary sectors are directly dependent on the growth of
services like banking, insurance, trade, commerce, entertainment etc.
Indian Service Sector - 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.
Post Liberalization - The Indian economy has moved from agriculture based economy to a knowledge based
economy. Today the IT industry and ITE'S industry are the dominant industry in the service sector. Media and
entertainment have also seen tremendous growth in the past few years.
Subsectors
Information Technology Industry
The Information Technology industry has achieved phenomenal growth after liberalization. The industry has
performed exceedingly well amidst tough global competition. Being knowledge based industry; India has been able to
leverage the global markets, because of the huge pool of engineering talent available and the proficiency in English
language among the middle class.
ITES sector
The ITES sector has also leveraged the global changes positively to emerge as one of the prominent industries.
Some of the services covered by the ITES industry would be:
• Customer interaction services -Non voice and Voice.
• Back office, revenue accounting, data entry, data conversion, HR services.
• Medical Transcription.
• Content development and animation.
• Remote education, market research and GIS
Retailing
Prior to liberalization, India had one of the most underdeveloped retail sectors in the world. After liberalization the
scenario changed dramatically. Organized retailing with prominence on self service and chain stores has changed the
dynamics of retailing. In most of the tier I and tier II cities supermarket chains mushroomed, catering to the needs of
vibrant middle class. This indirectly contributed to the growth of the packaged food industry and other consumer

2. goods.
Financial Services-Banking And Insurance - Prior to liberalization these two sectors were controlled and regulated
by the government. Nationalized banks and insurance companies had a firm grip over the market. After liberalization
the banking and insurance domain opened up for private participation.
Banking Sector - The three major changes in the banking sector after liberalization are:
• Step to increase the cash outflow through reduction in the statutory liquidity and cash reserve ratio.
• Nationalized banks including SBI were allowed to sell stakes to private sector and private investors were
allowed to enter the banking domain. Foreign banks were given greater access to the domestic market, both
as subsidiaries and branches, provided the foreign banks maintained a minimum assigned capital and
would be governed by the same rules and regulations governing domestic banks.
• Banks were given greater freedom to leverage the capital markets and determine their asset portfolios. The
banks were allowed to provide advances against equity provided as collateral and provide bank guarantees
to the broking community.
Insurance Sector - The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act 1999 (IRDA Act) allowed the
participation of private insurance companies in the insurance sector. The primary role of IRDA was to safeguard the
interest of insurance policy holders, to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of the insurance industry. The
insurance sector could invest in the capital markets and other than traditional insurance products, various market link
insurance products were available to the end customer to choose from.
The Indian economy is the 12th largest in USD exchange rate terms. India is the second fastest growing economy in
the world. India’s GDP has touched US$1.25 trillion. The crossing of Indian GDP over a trillion dollar mark in 2007
puts India in the elite group of 12 countries with trillion dollar economy. The tremendous growth rate has coincided
with better macroeconomic stability. India has made remarkable progress in information technology, high end
services and knowledge process services.
However cause for concern would be this rapid growth has not been an inclusive in nature, in the sense it has not
been accompanied by a just and equitable distribution of wealth among all sections of the population. This economic
growth has been location specific and sector specific. For e.g. it has not percolated to sectors were labor is intensive
(agriculture) and in states were poverty is acute (Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh).
Though India has the second highest growth rate in the world, its rank in terms of human development index (which is
broadly used has a measure of life expectancy, adult literacy and standard of living) has gone down to 128 among
177 countries in 2007 compared to 126 in 2006.
Indian GDP –Trend Of Growth Rate
1960-1980 : 3.5%
1980-1990 : 5.4%
1990-2000 : 4.4%
2000-2009 : 6.4%
Contribution of Various Sectors in GDP

3. The contributions of various sectors in the Indian GDP for 1990-1991 are as follows:
Agriculture: - 32%
Industry: - 27%
Service Sector: - 41%
The contributions of various sectors in the Indian GDP for 2005-2006 are as follows:
Agriculture: - 20%
Industry: - 26%
Service Sector: - 54%
The contributions of various sectors in the Indian GDP for 2007-2008 are as follows:
Agriculture: - 17%
Industry: - 29%
Service Sector: - 54%
It is great news that today the service sector is contributing more than half of the Indian GDP. It takes India one step
closer to the developed economies of the world. Earlier it was agriculture which mainly contributed to the Indian GDP.
The Indian government is still looking up to improve the GDP of the country and so several steps have been taken to
boost the economy. Policies of FDI, SEZs and NRI investment have been framed to give a push to the economy and
hence the GDP.

6. 2. Also analyze the role of services in the economies of leading developed countries.

8. 3. Write a critical commentary on the society and culture of India. How do you think these affect
the business in India? What is the expectation of Indian consumer from services?
Regionalism, religion, language and caste are all factors that need to be taken into account when doing
business in India. Behaviour, etiquette and approach are all modified depending on whom you are
addressing and the context in which they are being addressed. In such a richly diverse and complex
country as India it is difficult to impart generic conclusions that can be used by those doing business there.
However, most of those doing business in India will do so in cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and
Hyderabad and with a particular socio-economic class.
When a foreigner, particularly a Westerner, who is accustomed to a more homogenous, industrial,
‘national’ culture, comes to India the unique, contradictory, in many ways paradoxical, and colourful
diversity is probably one of the first things that he becomes aware of – and finds or does not find
attractive. Most Indians come across as friendly, hospitable and helpful, and try to make foreigners
feel at home. Nevertheless, the initial encounter with Indian culture also incorporates many elements
of culture shock.
There are certainly many aspects of Indian culture that a foreigner would find disagreeable. These are
not only obvious things like the tropical climate, made worse due to the greenhouse effect and global
warming; these are also the dirt, filth and slums even in wealthy cities like Mumbai and Bangalore;
the chaotic traffic, bad, potholed roads (the roads that could better be named “directions”) in most
cities and towns with traffic rules more in abeyance than observance.
Further hassle is encountered when one actually tries to get down to business. This can range from
minor to major power outages that happen regularly unless one has access to a 24-hour power back-
up office, to trains not running on time, to the overcharging by autorickshaw drivers and buses having
a schedule that remains a mystery. Adding to the stress is the fact that every activity seems to take at
least double the time that it takes in one’s own country.
• A sound knowledge of India's cultural practices and business etiquettes is necessary for any trade or
business venture within the country. A proper understanding of culture and business etiquette would not
only demonstrate a respect for India but will also create a feel good factor amongst the prospective clients.
• In India guests are treated with utmost respect and courtesy. International travelers can expect to enjoy the
Indian hospitality. At the same time culturally and as a mark of politeness, Indians have difficulty in saying
no, this could be a stumbling block in negotiations and in closing contracts.
• The notion of time, time management, punctuality is still an anathema in India. It is more to do with the
mindset and ingrained in the Indian culture. It would not be surprising if meetings are postponed, re
scheduled, cancelled or organized at a very short notice.
• The proficiency over the English language for the average middle class is commendable. Official
communication-letter faxes, emails are generally received without any hitch, but it would be prudent to cross
check if the transmission has reached the receiver.

9. • Bureaucratic hurdles and a laidback approach to work in the government circles could result in delays in
processing, overload of paperwork and a general lack of confidence in the system. Therefore immense
patience is very much necessary for any business transaction in India.
• In India, Companies follow the hierarchical system and decision making is usually from the top to bottom. It
could at times be time consuming, International companies show respect to this. The lack of infrastructure
and inadequate supply chain management can also act as bottleneck for foreign investment.
1. How do you think is the Indian businessperson different and distinct in managing his/her
business? Relate this to the local cultural dimensions.
2. Comment on the quality of services in India. Relate it to the culture, socio-economic conditions
and tradition of the land.
Customer expectations in India - in India described their expectations as higher now than one year ago; 52 %
globally and 85 % in India described their expectations as higher now than five years ago.
In mature markets for customers in general, the bar has been raised across industries and have emerged into
different service levels. So the customers are driven by knowledge of customer service representative, technical
service availability and then price.
Indian respondents were least satisfied with their ability to resolve questions or issues on their own without speaking
to a service agent. They are most frustrated with having to contact a customer service multiple times for the same
reason and being placed on hold for a long time. Indian respondents along with those in Brazil and China were far
more likely than those in other countries to expect much better service when they spend more or purchase more
often.
Indians were most likely to consider customer service as the main factor for choosing a new provider after switching
from an established one (cited by 79%), while convenience was the second-most popular factor (named by 69%).
And for the largest percentage of Indians (about 79%), their preference would be to receive faster service. Indian
consumers were the most likely (about 49% in our survey) to strongly agree that the use of technology in customer
service has significantly improved service levels.
In India, calling for assistance is by far the preferred method for accessing customer service, cited by 85% of
consumers.
The second-most popular method, sending an email, was named by 68%, followed by getting information from the
company’s website (47%) and going to the company’s place of business (31%). When they have a bad customer
service experience, Indian consumers are among the most likely of those surveyed to say they will ask to speak to a
supervisor (37%) and the most likely to send a formal complaint to the company (21%).
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/customer-expectations-in-india-are-rising-fast/