Number of employees in major sectors India FY 2023

India's agriculture sector was the leading industry in terms of employment in the financial year 2023 with the number of employees tallying over 253 million. Meanwhile, the mining industry recorded almost 1.9 million employees. The services sector is the next big sector in India after agriculture.

Challenges facing the agriculture sector

Agriculture is the mainstay of India’s workforce. It employs over 42 percent of India’s population. However, it is the lowest contributor to the country’s GDP when compared to other major sectors. Despite being one of the largest producers of crops in the world, agricultural productivity remains low. Key issues impacting productivity include the decreasing size of landholdings, dependence on monsoons, inadequate access to irrigation, lack of access to credit and finance for marginal farmers, inadequate agricultural infrastructure, vulnerability to market volatility, and climate change, among others.

Service sector: Key GDP contributor

The service sector contributes a lion’s share to India’s GDP. Driven by investments and a skilled workforce, India has now positioned itself on the global stage for services. Information technology, financial services, and communications are the key performing subsectors within the service industry. However, the rising labor productivity in the sector has reduced the demand for labor. This gap in output and employment parallels the disproportionately larger share of the service sector in GDP than employment.