Sunita runs a tailoring shop from her home in a small town in Bihar. Her brother loads trucks at the grain market on days when work is offered and is paid at the end of each day. Their uncle is a clerk in a bank and draws a fixed pay every month, with leave and a pension. Their cousin Neha, a nurse in Canada, remarks that most of her neighbours work in hospitals, shops, offices and schools, and hardly anyone farms.
Neha's remark invites a comparison with work in India. Which statement about India is correct?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Unlike Canada, India has its largest share of workers in the primary sector
Option (1) Like Canada, India has its largest share of workers in the tertiary sector — Incorrect. The tertiary sector (services) has the largest share of workers only in developed countries like Canada. In India it employed about 32% of workers in 2018-19, less than the primary sector.
Option (2) Unlike Canada, India has its largest share of workers in the primary sector — Correct. In 2018-19, nearly 43% of Indian workers were in the primary sector (agriculture and mining), the largest share. In developed countries such as Canada, most people work in services and less than 10% in agriculture.
Option (3) Unlike Canada, India gets most of its economic growth from agriculture — Incorrect. Most workers are in agriculture, but its share in economic growth has fallen sharply. Services now give more than half of the growth, so the sector with the most workers earns little for them.
Option (4) Unlike Canada, India has its largest share of workers in the secondary sector — Incorrect. The secondary sector (manufacturing, construction and utilities) employed only about 17% of Indian workers. It is the smallest of the three shares.
NCERT (2026-27): “The Specificity of Indian Industrialisation |