Basic services
Topic: Sectors of the Indian Economy · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 2 "Sectors of the Indian Economy"
Meaning
Basic services are the services every country needs to function. They include hospitals, schools, post and telegraph, police, courts, village offices, municipal bodies, defence, transport, banks and insurance. In a developing country, the government must provide many of them, because private firms may not reach everyone. Class 10 names them as one of the four reasons India's service sector grew.
Example
A government primary school and a primary health centre in a village, a post office in a small town and the local police station are all basic services. The state provides them even where they do not earn a profit.
Don't confuse with
- Income-elastic services: these are services people buy more of as their income rises, such as eating out, tourism, private schools and private hospitals. Basic services are needed whatever people earn.