GUWAHATI, Jan 25 - The contributions of the services sector to the country�s GDP, trade, FDI inflows, employment and skilling make the sector�s role all the more important in the development trajectory of the Indian economy, observed AK Bhalla, Director General of Foreign Trade, Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, here on Tuesday.
He was addressing a curtain raiser for the Global Exhibition on Services 2017, said an official press release here.
The third edition of the Global Exhibition on Services, scheduled to be held between April 17 and 20, 2017, unveils more focus sectors vis-�-vis the previous years. Among the new sectors being covered this year are railway services, environment services, wellness services, sports services and retail and e-commerce, he added.
�While China has agreed to be one of the focus countries of the Global Exhibition on Services 2017, discussions are on with Singapore, Japan and Malaysia to join GES 2017 as a partnering country,� he added.�
There has been a significant growth in FDI inflows in general and to the services sector in particular. The combined FDI share of the top 10 service sectors such as financial and non-financial services under services sector, telecommunications, trading, computer hardware and software, construction, hotels and tourism, hospital and diagnostic centres, consultancy services, sea transport, information and broadcasting can be taken as the best estimate of services, which is about 53.3 per cent of the cumulative FDI equity inflows during period Aril 2000- October 2015, he observed.
Earlier, welcoming the guests, SK Barua, Chairman of CII, Assam State Council, and Director, Numaligarh Refinery Ltd, said that the centre of gravity of global growth has moved towards Asia and India is regarded as the one with the highest potential, with the economy now on the fulcrum of a high-growth trajectory.
