How the service sector holds the key to India's development
The service sector has evolved in India. There are a huge number of services that are now available, and the upwardly mobile young generation is all set to make a killing in this market. The market itself has evolved, and we need to acknowledge the fact that the service sector is the key to India's development, and we can and should encourage new forms of investment in this vital domain of social and economic development.
What exactly can we call the service sector? The service sector includes the hotels, the lodges, the internet cafes, the schools and colleges, the hundreds of thousands of guys who are skilled as motor mechanics or electricians, or drivers or plumbers or even painters. And then the huge self-employment in the form of thousands of shops and establishments.
One particular area of this huge domain, which has huge potential for growth is the food business. If we just count the new forms of business in this area, we will be just stumped for an answer.
Along the Chennai-Bangalore highway or the Chennai--Tiruchii highway,in Tamil Nadu, one can see, for example, hundreds of shops with the caption, "Kumbakonam degree coffee". When even those from Southern States do not understand its meaning, it is natural to note North Indians blinking at it.
Well, Kumbakonam is a rather big town in Tamil Nadu's Tanjore district. It is famous for its huge number of temples. It is also famous for a particular variety of filter coffee. The entire process of preparation is unique to this town, and its people. It all started off with the Brahmins dominating the trade at one point in time. However, today, the same Brahmins have gone to many corners of the world. They have trained others who have learned the art of doing something unique.
This trade has multiplied now. The coffee is priced a little more than the regular coffee, and has a very unique trade. What is most important is that it gainfully employs so many people, and has spun many entrepreneurs of all kinds in Tamil Nadu, and even in the neighboring States.
Similarly, when the multinational chains, KFC and the Domino Pizza set up shop in Chennai and Bangalore, many wondered whether there will be a market for these products. The customers have not only embraced them, there is such a growing market for these products as well.
The day will come soon, when these products will travel to all tier two and three towns, throughout India, and still become very successful.
Go the Southern city of Madurai, in South India, in South Tamil Nadu, at any time of the day or night. One will be simply stumped at the kinds of food available, even at 2 AM, well past midnight. In fact, this is an industry by itself, employing several thousands of people.
In tourism and travel, Kerala has immense potential, which is still untapped. Even now, though thousands of people still flock to the various places of tourism, the infrastructure available at many places is largely inadequate. Kerala will do well to train thousands as cooks, bar tenders, front office receptionists, tour operators and so on. The specialized skills are not available. They are trained mostly on the job or flock to Tamil Nadu, where there are a huge variety of training institutions.
Throughout India, if the Governments wake up and develop tourist spots, the employment and self-employment potential that is so huge, can be very well exploited.
If one takes the private sector, that specializes in coaching candidates for competitive examinations for admission into engineering, the MBA, or medicine and so on, one can realize that the potential is very huge for highly specialized result-oriented skills in this area. What we need to do is to re-orient our attitudes and take bold steps for encouraging such private entrepreneurship. Even granting that it is costly, these services are highly result-oriented and this makes a huge difference.
What about the huge potential of the Non-governmental organizations that are now engaged in training people, in various trades? The potential is very huge, and this calls for private-public partnership as well. A day will come, when everything will be built on this model of public-private entrepreneurship.
India cannot afford to let go of any opportunity. For the semi-literate and the illiterate, the Government of India, through the National Skill Development Corporation, is doing its bit. Thousands are trained as carpenters, fitters, welders and so on. However, the urban bias needs to taken off, and people have to be trained in the rural areas, where there is inadequate infrastructure.
For example, if one Corporate Organization were to sponsor the training fees for very poor young men, to be trained as drivers, they can jolly well operate within their own native places, and earn a living as well. Drivers are the most wanted in every city, every town. However, the trained drivers, who are skilled in driving in the highways, are few and far between. The National Skill Development Corporation needs to wake up to this potential for gainful employment, and do the needful.
Education has opened many other doors too. There is this "abacus" mathematics, which is so good, and which is unique, to learn, for general proficiency in mathematics. The number of schools that have sprung up for teaching this specialized mathematics has to be seen to be believed.
Similarly, now that the Government of India, is so keen to take banking services to new areas, and the rural areas, there is tremendous scope for innovation in this area. Software packages have to be done in all regional languages to take the inclusive path to real development. Merely having English or Hindi as the main languages, will not solve any problem.
The potential for innovation in services is a huge learning experience in itself. Once again, the private sector, with a huge number of out-of-the-box thinkers, offers huge potential for growth at any point in time. Once the Government learns the lessons, the doors can be thrown open for public-private partnership.
The service sector is key to India's development. There can no no doubt about this at all.
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