[Sivasubramaniyan *, Vol.5 (Iss.

9): September, 2017] ISSN- 2350-0530(O), ISSN- 2394-3629(P)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.999325

Management

SECTORAL CONTRIBUTION AND THEIR RELEVANCE IN INDIA:

WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THREE SOUTH INDIAN STATES

K. Sivasubramaniyan*1
*1
Associate Professor, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Adyar, Chennai – 600 020,
Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract
Majority of the countries in the world has been functioning with its involvement in one or more
of the three sectors of the economy such as agriculture, industry and services. In India, a large
proportion of population live in poverty due to low level of skill development who are unable to
cope with the available employment opportunities in the three sectors of the economy. Proper
skill training not only benefits the work force and allows it to earn a decent living, but also
contributes to the national economy by enhancing better productivity through the work force.
Although India is an agricultural country, its importance in terms of giving employment and to
generate adequate income to the people engaged in the sector has been gradually and steadily
declining overtime. Consequently, industry and service sectors have been absorbing the
displaced agricultural population to some extent. To what extent all the three sectors help the
people to get employment and earn income for their livelihood in India, especially in the four
southern states of India is discussed in the paper.

Keywords: Sectoral Contribution; Skill Development; Economy.

Cite This Article: K. Sivasubramaniyan. (2017). “SECTORAL CONTRIBUTION AND THEIR

RELEVANCE IN INDIA: WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THREE SOUTH INDIAN
STATES.” International Journal of Research - Granthaalayah, 5(9), 116-123.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.999325.

1. Introduction

Poverty and unemployment contribute to the slow progress of our nation. India’s massive
population is a threat to sustainable development. Our population has grown from 846 million in
1991 to around 1336 million in August 2017 (Indiaagristat.com) and is still continuing to grow
by around 15 million a year. This growth has led to important implications for socio-economic
development and for the quality of life in India. The problem of rapidly growing population is
reflected in widespread hunger, poverty, unemployment, lack of physical and health
infrastructure, increasing scarcity of basic needs such as food, water and shelter in several parts
of India despite concerted developmental efforts since independence. According to Global
Economic Prospects report (2010), one-fourth of India’s population will fall below extreme

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[Sivasubramaniyan *, Vol.5 (Iss.9): September, 2017] ISSN- 2350-0530(O), ISSN- 2394-3629(P)
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.999325
poverty line, less than $1.25 a day, by 2025. The growing population is a major challenge to
socio-economic progress and sustainable development. How does one tackle this ever-growing
population challenge in India? Although many steps have been taken by the Central and State
governments to address this problem, and effective solution has still not yet been reached. In this
context, it is considered important to develop skills in order to get suitable employment
opportunities, through which the poor can raise their income level for a better living.

2. Population: The World Scenario

The world has 242 countries and its population in September 2014 has been 7.143 billion (Table
1) and in August 2017 it is 7.531 billion (Indiaagristat.com). Population of 12 major countries
constitute 4.406 billion, which is 61.3% of World population. Interestingly, 156 countries
contribute only 0.372 billion population and each country’s population of this category ranging
from 56 persons to 1 crore. Table shows that in all 242 countries some form of different sectors
related activities have been performed to sustain their economy. What type of sectoral activities
to be performed in each country depends upon the country’s specific characteristics such as its
geographical location and the natural resources endowed and human resources available in the
country?
Table 1: World Population of Major Countries as on 6 Sept 2014
RANK COUNTRY Geographical Population % of
Area ('000 (Crores) World
sq. km) Population
1 China 9597 136.7 19.0
2 India 3288 124.9 17.4
3 United States 9629 31.9 4.4
4 Indonesia 1919 25.2 3.5
5 Brazil 8512 20.3 2.8
6 Pakistan 804 18.8 2.6
7 Nigeria 924 17.9 2.5
8 Bangladesh 144 15.7 2.2
9 Russia 17075 14.6 2.0
10 Japan 378 12.7 1.8
11 Mexico 1973 12.0 1.7
12 Philippines 300 10.0 1.4
Total 54542 440.6 61.3
13 to 86 (74 countries) Pop NWO 236.5 32.9
from 1 crore to 10 crores
Total of 86 countries 677.1 94.2
87 to 242 (156 countries) pop NWO 37.2 5.2
from 56 to 1 crore
1 to 242 countries total 714.3 99.4
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population (6.9.2014: 9 pm)
Increase of annual population in India is about 10 crores.

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DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.999325
Annual death of population for all causes is about 8 crores.
Annual Net increase of population in India is about two crores. This is equal to the total
population available in Sri Lanka (2.03 crores). NWO = Not Worked Out
Pitcaim Islands under the Control of UK has only 56 population.
As on 15 August 2017: World Population is 752.8 Crore and in India 133.6 Crore.

3. Sectoral Contribution by Major Countries of the World

Although each country has to undertake activities of the three sectors, the contribution from each
sector varies considerably from one country to another based on its sectoral specialization. For
instance, in most of the developed countries the major source of National Income, in terms of
Gross National Project (GDP), comes from the service sector followed by industrial sector. In
these countries the contribution of agriculture sector is very minimum that is between <1% and
5% of GDP (Table 2). One can notice that in Arabian countries, due to their oil export, a major
portion of GDP is derived from the industrial sector. Likewise, the developing countries like
China and India their share in agriculture sector to the total GDP has been gradually and steadily
declining from about 50% in the 1950s to less than 20% in the 2010s, indicate their development
from primitive agriculture to other sectors. The world’s average contribution to GDP has been
5.9%, 30.5% and 63.6% respectively in agriculture, industry and service sector in 2016. In most
underdeveloped countries their major GDP contribution is only from agriculture. In this context
let us examine the GDP contribution in India and three southern states.

Table 2: Nominal GDP sector composition, 2016 (in % and in millions of

dollars)
Sl nominal
no Country/Economy GDP Agri. Indus. Serv. Indus+Serv
World 752,12,696 5.9% 30.5% 63.6% 94.1%
1 United Kingdom 26,49,890 0.7% 21.0% 78.3% 99.3%
2 Belgium 4,70,179 0.7% 21.6% 77.7% 99.3%
United Arab
3 Emirates 4,16,444 0.7% 59.4% 39.8% 99.2%
4 Germany 34,94,900 0.8% 28.1% 71.1% 99.2%
5 United States 179,46,996 1.1% 19.1% 79.7% 98.8%
6 Japan 47,30,300 1.2% 27.5% 71.4% 98.9%
7 Switzerland 6,62,483 1.3% 27.7% 71.0% 98.7%
8 Taiwan 5,19,149 1.3% 32.0% 66.9% 98.9%
9 Austria 3,87,299 1.5% 29.5% 69.0% 98.5%
10 Canada 15,32,340 1.8% 28.6% 69.6% 98.2%
11 Sweden 5,17,440 1.8% 26.9% 71.3% 98.2%
12 France 24,88,280 1.9% 18.3% 79.8% 98.1%
13 Italy 18,52,500 2.0% 24.2% 73.8% 98.0%
14 Saudi Arabia 6,57,785 2.0% 66.9% 31.1% 98.0%
15 South Africa 3,41,216 2.5% 31.6% 65.9% 97.5%
16 South Korea 14,04,380 2.7% 39.8% 57.5% 97.3%
17 Norway 3,76,268 2.7% 38.3% 59.0% 97.3%
18 Netherlands 7,69,930 2.8% 24.1% 73.2% 97.3%
19 Spain 12,52,160 3.3% 24.2% 72.6% 96.8%

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[Sivasubramaniyan *, Vol.5 (Iss.9): September, 2017] ISSN- 2350-0530(O), ISSN- 2394-3629(P)
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.999325
20 Algeria 2,46,397 3.3% 17.9% 78.9% 96.8%
21 Poland 4,67,350 3.4% 33.6% 63.0% 96.6%
22 Mexico 10,63,610 3.7% 34.2% 62.1% 96.3%
23 Russia 12,67,750 3.9% 36.0% 60.1% 96.1%
24 Australia 12,56,640 4.0% 26.6% 69.4% 96.0%
25 Denmark 3,47,196 4.5% 19.1% 76.4% 95.5%
26 Venezuela 2,09,226 4.7% 34.9% 60.4% 95.3%
27 Brazil 17,69,600 5.4% 27.4% 67.2% 94.6%
28 China 112,18,281 8.6% 39.8% 51.6% 91.4%
29 Turkey 7,55,716 8.9% 28.1% 63.0% 91.1%
30 Colombia 4,00,117 8.9% 38.0% 53.1% 91.1%
31 India 22,50,990 17.4% 25.8% 56.9% 82.7%
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_sector_composition
Note: 1 Dollar = 66.90 rupees in 2016 (average)

4. Sectoral Contribution to GDP in India and Three Southern States

Indian economy is classified in three sectors — Agriculture and allied, Industry and Services.
Agriculture sector includes Agriculture (Agriculture proper & Livestock), Forestry & Logging,
Fishing and related activities. Industry includes 'Mining & quarrying', Manufacturing (Registered
& Unregistered), Electricity, Gas, Water supply, and Construction. Services sector includes
'Trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting', 'Financial, real
estate & professional services’, 'Public Administration, defence and other services'. Services
sector is the largest sector of India. Gross Value Added (GVA) at current prices for Services
sector is estimated at Rs. 73.79 lakh crore in 2016-17. Services sector accounts for 53.66% of
total India's GVA of 137.51 lakh crore Indian rupees (Table 3). With GVA of Rs. 39.90 lakh
crore, Industry sector contributes 29.02%. While, Agriculture and allied sector shares 17.32%
and GVA is around of Rs. 23.82 lakh crore (GoI, 2017).

Table 3: Gross Value Added (Rupees in Crore) at Current Prices

Sector 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17
Agriculture
15,01,816 16,80,798 19,32,692 20,67,935 21,72,910 23,82,289
Sector
GVA % 18.53 18.26 18.64 18.03 17.45 17.32
Industry Sector 26,35,052 29,21,262 31,88,270 34,55,221 36,83,358 39,89,791
GVA % 32.50 31.73 30.76 30.12 29.58 29.02
Services
39,69,789 46,03,255 52,45,305 59,47,260 65,95,670 73,78,705
Sector
GVA % 48.97 50.01 50.60 51.85 52.97 53.66
GVA at
current prices 81,06,657 92,05,315 103,66,267 114,70,416 124,51,938 137,50,785
GVA % 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
Source Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Planning Commission, GOI. 21 March
2017.

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[Sivasubramaniyan *, Vol.5 (Iss.9): September, 2017] ISSN- 2350-0530(O), ISSN- 2394-3629(P)
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5. Growth of Service Sector in India - Historical Perspective

While indicating the present level of contribution of different sectors to the Gross Value Added
(GVA) in India it is important to understand how each sector have been contributing to the
growth of GDP since Independence. Because only based on the labour and capital investments
these growth rates / percentages are possible, so this growth pattern is considered important.
Table 4 clearly indicates, since 1950-51 service sector’s contribution has been gradually
increasing up to 1970s, after that a rapid increase is noticed. Contrary to this pattern, agriculture
sector’s contribution has been steadily decreasing since the 1950s to till now. Whereas in the
industrial sector’s GDP contribution is only moderate and it has become stagnant since the
1980s. Since agriculture and industry are inter-related the progressive decline in the growth of
agriculture retards the expected growth pattern of industrial sector also. This relationship has to
be studied through micro level studies in different states of India. For better understanding of the
three sectors’ contribution in India from 1950 to 2014 one may refer figure 1.

Table 4: Sector wise Decadal percentage share of GDP in India from 1950-51 to 2013-
14
Decades Agriculture Industry Services Total
1950-51 to 1959-60 47.52 15.98 36.50 100.0
1960-61 to 1969-70 42.32 19.88 37.78 100.0
1970-71 to 1979-80 38.70 22.28 38.98 100.0
1980-81 to 1989-90 31.91 25.62 42.50 100.0
1990-91 to 1999-2K 27.37 26.19 46.40 100.0
2000-01 to 2009-10 19.73 27.32 52.95 100.0
2010-11 to 2013-14 17.95 26.34 55.71 100.0
Source: http://statisticstimes.com/economy/sectorwise-gdp-
contribution-of-india.php

Source: http://statisticstimes.com/economy/sectorwise-gdp-contribution-of-india.php

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DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.999325
6. Sectoral Contribution by Three Southern States of India

The overall growth of GDP in India depends upon the contribution made by each state, it is
important to study the individual states GDP contribution. For this purpose, the three south
Indian States, namely Andhra Pradesh (undivided), Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are taken into
account. These three states GDP contribution accounts a little more than a fifth of India’s GDP
(Table 5).

Table 5: Sector-wise GSDP and Its Percentage Distribution in the Three Southern States of
India (Rs. Crore)
Agriculture Industry Services
State 2012-13 2013-14 2012-13 2013-14 2012-13 2013-14
Andhra Pradesh
82048 87325 105431 106801 244633 261810
(undivided)
% 19.0 19.2 24.4 23.4 56.6 57.4
Karnataka 39737 41151 84185 85221 172737 185256
% 13.4 13.2 28.4 27.3 58.2 59.4
Tamil Nadu 32792 35394 142927 145230 275594 298352
% 7.3 7.4 31.7 30.3 61.1 62.3
India 764510 800548 1494921 1500225 3222680 3441017
% 13.9 13.9 27.3 26.1 58.8 59.9
Three States total 154577 163870 332543 337252 692964 745418
% of 3 states 20.2 20.5 22.2 22.5 21.5 21.7
GSDP to All-India
GDP
Source: Planning Commission, GOI. 14-12-2014.
http://statisticstimes.com/economy/sectorwise-gdp-of-indian-states.php

One may observe from table 5, agriculture sector’s GSDP is relatively more in Andhra Pradesh
followed by Karnataka, whereas Tamil Nadu’s contribution goes down to a single digit of about
7%. The services sector’s GSDP contribution in the states is moving on a reverse direction,
where Tamil Nadu ranks first followed by Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Compared to Services
sector, the industrial sectors growth performance in all these states are not appreciable. However,
one can think when that agriculture’s GSDP contribution is steadily declining it impact may be
seen first in the upward growth of services sector followed by industrial sector. This aspect has
to be studied in depth in the context of other states of India.

7. Gross State Domestic Product Trend in Tamil Nadu since the 1960s

Tamil Nadu is one of the leading states in India in the development process especially in services
and industrial sectors activities. Hence the state’s GSDP analysis assumes importance.
Agriculture development in a state basically depends upon its water resources since agricultural
productivity is three to five times more under irrigated condition compared to rainfed cultivation.
Since water resources position at the present situation is very weak in Tamil Nadu, its
contribution in terms of GSDP is also declining considerably compared to other states.

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Table 6 shows that agriculture sector’s contribution to Gross State Domestic Product has
gradually and steadily declined from 43.5% in 1960-61 to about 7% in 2013-14. Industrial
sector’s contribution was growing up to 1980-81 and after that stagnated with 33% up to 1990-
91 and afterwards, it marginally declined. Whereas the service sector’s contribution was indeed
marvelous, steady and gradual. These observations indicate that prosperity in the primary sector
(through employment generation) may be possible, only if enough attention is paid to regain its
contribution or at least stop the trend of decline in Tamil Nadu.

Table 6: Structural Changes in the Economy of Tamil Nadu (GSDP Contribution in

%)
Sl. no Sectors 1960-1 1970-1 1980-1 1990-1 1999-2K 2013-4
1 Agriculture 43.5 34.8 25.9 23.4 17.3 7.4
& Allied
2 Industry 20.3 26.9 33.5 33.1 29.6 30.3
3 Services 36.2 38.3 40.6 43.5 53.1 62.3
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: GoTN, Tamil Nadu an Economic Appraisal, Various issues, DEAR,
Chennai.

Since the primary sector’s income contribution has been declining, the effect of employment
generation – in terms of percentage decline during 1993-94 to 2004-05 – also indicates the same
declining trend, which is roughly -6 % between 1993-4 and 1999-2000 and further to -12 %
between 1999-2000 and 2004-05 (Table 7).

Table 7: Sector wise Employment Status in Tamil Nadu

Sl. Sector Employment in Lakhs % Change between
no 1993- % 1999- % 2004- % Col 3 & Col 5 &
94 2000 05 Col 5 Col 7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 Agriculture 154.82 54.2 145.7 50.3 127.8 41.6 -6 -12
& Allied
2 Industry 62.43 21.9 68.5 23.6 85.1 27.7 10 24
3 Services 68.36 23.9 75.5 26.1 94.4 30.7 10 25
Total 285.6 100.0 289.7 100.0 307.3 100.0 1 6
Employment
Source: GoTN, Tamil Nadu an Economic Appraisal, Various issues, DEAR, Chennai.

However, the contribution from the other two sectors are progressing and employment
generation is also positive, which is between 22 % and 31% in each of the two sectors. Despite
this, the fact remains that in absolute terms, employment levels in the primary sector is higher in
comparison with the other two sectors. Therefore it is both necessary and important to foster the
primary sector to generate employment. To this end various aspects need to be considered to
uplift this sector in all the three states under study.

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8. Concluding Observations

The world has made up of about 240 countries and in each country at least any one of the three
sectors such as agriculture, industry and services is established based on the geographical
location of the country to run the economy of the nation. Such that India has all the three sectors
of the economy but each sector’s contribution to the GDP varies considerably depending upon
individual states contribution to the nation. Likewise, the three south Indian States – Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu – also follow the pattern of India and the three states
contribution to the national GDP is a little more 20% in each sector.

The analysis of sectoral contribution in Tamil Nadu in the past 60 years shows that agriculture
sector’s contribution has been gradually and steadily declining whereas the services sector is
improving continuously and the industrial sector is to some extent stagnated over this period,
except marginal improvements in a few decades. The employment scenario in the three sectors
indicate still agriculture sector provides major share of employment compared to the other two
sectors. This is true in Andhra Pradesh followed by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Hence
preference should be given to foster agriculture and related rural development aspects to
strengthen the economy. Population control especially in Indian context is most important since
ratio of effective population (in terms of education and employment) to total population in India
is much less that hinders the growth of the country. Altogether, the three sectors only have
possessed the total population of the country, hence due importance to be given to improve all
the three sectors not only in India but also throughout the world.

References

[1] https://www.Indiaagristat.com
[2] Global Economic Prospects Report 2010: (https://www.ibtimes/articles/27804/20100610 /global-
economy-world-bank-economy-recovery-debt-cricis.htm)
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_sector_composition
[5] Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Planning Commission, GOI.
21 March 2017.
[6] http://statisticstimes.com/economy/sectorwise-gdp-contribution-of-india.php
[7] Source: GoTN, Tamil Nadu an Economic Appraisal, Various issues, DEAR, Chennai.

*Corresponding author.
E-mail address: ksivam2010@ gmail.com

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