Q.Mention any four services included in India's tertiary sector.

The service (tertiary) sector produces services rather than goods — trade, transport, banking, insurance, communication, education, health, tourism and IT — and is today the biggest contributor to India's national income and a growing source of employment.

This is a 2-mark short note in the AP Intermediate 2nd-year Economics tertiary-sector unit.

The service sector, also called the tertiary sector, consists of activities that provide useful services rather than producing tangible goods. It includes trade and commerce, transport, communication, banking and insurance, education, health, tourism, hotels, professional services and information-technology services. These services help production and distribution in agriculture and industry and also directly meet people's needs. In India the service sector has grown the fastest and now contributes the largest share of GDP, though it provides relatively less employment than its share in output.

The service (tertiary) sector produces services, not goods - trade, transport, communication, banking, insurance, education, health, tourism and IT. It is the largest contributor to India's GDP.

This is a 2-mark short note in AP Intermediate 2nd year Economics, part of the tertiary-sector theme, treated in line with the NCERT/CBSE curriculum.

Meaning. The service sector, also known as the tertiary sector, comprises all those economic activities that provide services instead of producing physical goods. It includes trade and commerce, transport, storage and communication, banking, insurance and finance, real estate, public administration and defence, and personal and community services such as education, health, tourism, hotels, and information and communication technology. These activities help the primary and secondary sectors function and directly serve consumers. In India the service sector has grown very rapidly and is now the largest contributor to the national income (GDP) as well as an important source of employment and foreign-exchange earnings.

The Life Insurance Corporation of India, set up in 1956 by nationalising life insurance, is a major public-sector institution that provides life-insurance protection to people and channels their savings into government and development investment. It is an important part of India's services and financial sector. This is an AP Intermediate 2nd-year Economics topic on the tertiary (services) sector.

LIC is the short form of the Life Insurance Corporation of India. Its main points are:

1. It was established in 1956 when the Government of India nationalised the life-insurance business by merging a large number of private life-insurance companies into a single state-owned corporation.

2. Its main function is to provide life-insurance cover to policyholders, giving financial security to families against the risk of death and against old age through various policies.

3. It mobilises the small savings of millions of people by collecting premiums.

4. These funds are invested in government securities, infrastructure and development projects, so LIC is also a major source of long-term finance for the economy.

5. It thus serves both a social purpose (spreading insurance and security) and an economic purpose (mobilising savings and funding development).

Tourism is a service industry involving travel and stay away from one's usual residence for leisure, business or other purposes; it is an important part of the tertiary sector that earns foreign exchange, creates jobs, develops infrastructure and promotes culture.

Tourism is studied in the Tertiary Sector topic of the AP Intermediate 2nd-year Economics course (aligned with the NCERT/CBSE commerce curriculum).

Meaning and importance. Tourism refers to the activity of people travelling to and staying in places outside their normal place of residence for leisure, recreation, business, pilgrimage, health or other reasons. As a service industry it is an important component of the tertiary sector. Its benefits include earning valuable foreign exchange from foreign tourists, generating large-scale employment in hotels, transport, travel and handicrafts, promoting the development of infrastructure such as roads, airports and hotels, and showcasing the country's culture, heritage and natural beauty. India and states like Andhra Pradesh, with their temples, beaches and historical sites, have considerable scope for tourism.