Service sector rises in Delhi, manufacturing and construction fade

The economy of Delhi is being driven by an overwhelmingly large services sector which now accounts for as much as 87 per cent of the capital's GDP.

The share of the secondary sector comprising manufacturing and construction has come down further in 2013-14 to a mere 11.37 per cent.

According to the latest figures compiled by the Delhi government, a whopping Rs 3.54 lakh crore has been contributed by the services sector to the capital's total gross domestic product of Rs 4.04 lakh crore in 2013-14.

The combined share of banks, insurance and real estate services was Rs 1.69 lakh crore of the total contribution by the services sector.

Wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants, transport, storage and communication businesses contributed Rs 1.19 lakh crore while the share of community, social and personal services accounted for Rs 65,658 crore of the GDP at current prices.

The contribution of the services sector to the GDP in 2013-14 has gone up to 87 per cent from 81.54 per cent in 2012-13.

The Delhi government has been promoting nonpolluting industries and services sector has been fuelling the city's economy in the last decade. The share of the secondary sector to the GDP has come down to 11.36 per cent compared with 17.69 per cent in 2012-13.

Prof Jagdish Mukhi, BJP leader and former finance minister, Delhi government blamed the Congress government for this skewed growth. "As a policy matter, the successive Congress governments discouraged industries in Delhi for the last 15 years.

Previously, the Congress-led Metropolitan Council too disallowed DDA's proposal to reserve a certain ratio of land for industrial purposeWith only small industries running in Delhi, the industrial sector in Delhi was bound to go down.

Most of the small scale industries were shut down citing they were polluting units. But Delhi also failed to develop nonpolluting units like the IT industry as compared to those in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Noida and Gurgaon," Mukhi observed.

As per the estimates, the secondary sector contributed Rs 45,985 crore which was Rs 64,718 crore in 2012-13.

In the secondary sector, the share of manufacturing industry was Rs 18,551 crore while contribution of power plants, gas supply and construction sector was Rs 27,434 crore to the GDP.

The share of the primary sector comprising of agriculture, animal husbandry and forestry in 2013-14 was Rs3,668 crore as against Rs 2,813 crore in 2012-13.