The services sector is measure ( change measure to major) contributor in the Indian economy. The sector, accounts for 60 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and is growing on a steady speed.

The Indian service industry has emerged as one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors on the global platform and made sizeable contribution towards global output and employment. This sector is growing at faster pace as compared to agriculture and manufacturing sectors. Indian service segment comprises of wide range of activities, such as

I. Trade

II. Hotels and restaurants

III. Transport including tourist assistance activities as well as activities of travel agencies and tour operators

IV. Storage of goods and commodities

V. Communication – Mobile and Internet

VI. Banking and Insurance

VII. Real estate

Business services including accounting; software development; data processing services; business and management consultancy; architectural, engineering and other technical consultancy

IX. Advertisement

X. Entertainment and Multi media

XI. Public administration and defence

XII. Other services including education, medical and health, legal services

The Road Ahead

The services sectorisgoing to mark immense growth in the years to come.

Industry body CII projects the growth rate for Indian insurance industry in 2013-14 at around 5 per cent. Increasing the FDI limit from 26 per cent to 49 per cent in the sector is being viewed as a major factor to push the insurance density in India.

Furthermore, Indian banking system has majorly underwent (change underwent to undergone)revamp and modernisation over a last few years. The new infrastructure adopted by the banking system is mainly comprised of information technology (IT) products and services.

Recently on April 1 2014, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced its decision to award ‘in-principle’ approval to two applicants, IDFC Limited and Bandhan Financial Services Private Ltd., to set up banks.Each new banking entity is likely to create up to 5,000 jobs in the next 1 or 2 years.

Another measure (change to major) contributor in the service sector is Information Technology – Information Technology Enabled Services (IT-ITeS) sector which is undergoing rapid evolution and is changing the shape of Indian business standards. This sector includes software development, consultancies, software management; online services and business process outsourcing (BPO) India’s IT exports are now around $70 billion with 2.8 million employees working in this sector. The article states that the IT sector is one of the top two industries in the country today.

Word of Caution -Though theIT firms that have been the biggest employers of graduate especially engineering talent till recently they are sharply reducing their intake on account of automation of lower-end processes, and a move to higher-end work.

What is required for entering in to this sector?

Apart from your educational background and job specific skills you must have the following skills in you if you want to enter in to this sector

The top five skills the employer will look in you are

1. Business expertise: This is about knowledge of how a business or industry works.

2. Communication: This covers verbal and written communication, and listening skills.

3. Teamwork: You’ll need to prove that you’re a team player but also have the ability to manage and lead the team.

4. Problem solving: You need to display an ability to take a logical and analytical approach to solving problems and resolving issues.

5. Ability to work under pressure: This is about keeping calm in a crisis and not becoming too overwhelmed or stressed.