In a move to enhance country’s service exports, the government would soon come out with an action plan for five major service sectors such as entertainment, logistics, IT, tourism and healthcare. The move is aimed to boost exports from these sectors as the commerce ministry is of the view that exports basket of India's service sector is not well diversified, neither in terms of services categories nor in terms of the markets they serve. The ministry wants to enhance service exports through diversification and tapping of new markets.
Commerce Secretary S R Rao has said that besides IT and telecommunication sectors, there is a need to focus on sectors such as healthcare, tourism and financial services as well. In order to suggest steps to boost services exports, the ministry’s action plan will have some provisions, which require approval from cabinet and parliament. The commerce ministry has also organised a two day conclave during which experts have given their opinions on different sectors. The move is helping the ministry in preparing the action plan. Recently, the government has asked the service exporters to explore new markets such as Africa as the share of India's services sector in global trade is still very low. Furthermore, the government has also taken a initiative in order to properly capture the data on the services sector, a move which will help frame policies on the sector.
Indian Services sector contributes around 60 percent to the GDP, 35 percent to employment and 40 percent to exports. During 2012-13, Indian service sector exports stood at $146 billion. Further, the sector accounted for over 50 percent of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country. Meanwhile, FDI into Indian services sector has declined by 47.5 percent to $1.19 billion during the April-August period of 2013 as compared to $2.28 billion in the same period last year amid rising concerns over the declined outsourcing business in India.
