The global recession only partially succeeded in
slowing the Indian economy thanks to the robust growth in services at nearly 10 per cent in 2010-11 and 9.4 per cent this fiscal, says the latest Economic Survey.
This apart, the northeastern states have powered the service sector growth, it adds.
Tabled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in Parliament on Thursday, the
survey says that the service sector has continued to remain the driving force for the Indian economy with growth higher by 10 basis points this fiscal over the previous year.
"The industry sector contributes nearly 26 percent to India's gross domestic product (GDP). However, maintaining the growth momentum, the service sector recorded expected growth rate to bottom out the industrial slow down across the globe," the survey says.
"The service sector along with the agricultural sector, placed India in the top fastest growing economies of the world despite the Eurozone crisis and North American economic instabilities."
The survey clearly says the economy has successfully navigated the turbulent years of recent global economic crisis because of the vitality of the service sector and its prominent role in India's external economic interactions.
The survey says the share of services in India's GDP has increased from 33.5 per cent in 1950-51 to 55.1 per cent in 2010-11 and to 56.3 per cent in 2011-12. If construction is included, the share increased to 64.4 per cent in 2011-12.
Analysing the performance of states in the service sector, the survey notes the highest growth are in the northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh (34.9 per cent) and Sikkim (30.1 per cent).
Among the others, Goa with 20.1 per cent and Bihar with 16.6 per cent growth top the list. "This is over and above their very high growth rates in 2008-09. Others with higher than national average growth are Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Mizoram."
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