Government to soon come out with action plan on 5 service sectors

NEW DELHI: The government today said it would soon come out with an action plan on five major services - tourism, entertainment, logistics, IT and healthcare - to boost exports from the sector.

"We have identified five major services. In the next 3-4 weeks we would come out with an action plan for those sectors," Commerce Secretary S R Rao told reporters here.

He said that like manufacturing, there is a need to focus on the services sector as huge opportunities are there.

"We only focus on It and ITeS," he said adding the action would have some provisions for which the ministry would have to take cabinet as well as parliamentary approval.

Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Rajeev Kher said the action plan would suggest steps to boost services exports.

"To put special emphasis on the sector, the ministry has organised a two-day conclave which was ended today. During the conclave, experts gave their opinions on different sectors. It will help in preparing the action plan. We will also consult other stakeholders while preparing the plan," Kher said.

The government is also drawing a fresh roadmap for enhancing services exports through diversification and tapping of new markets.

An exercise has also been started to properly capture the data on the services sector, a move which will help frame policies on the sector.

Services sector in India contributes around 60 per cent to the GDP, 35 per cent to employment, 25 per cent to total trade, 40 per cent to exports, 20 per cent to imports and accounts for over 50 per cent of FDI into the country.

In 2012-13, services exports stood at USD 146 billion, while imports were USD 81 billion.

Despite such encouraging trends, it is generally observed that the exports basket of India's services sector is not well diversified, neither in terms of services categories nor the markets served.