Quinary sector
Topic: Sectors of the Indian Economy · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The quinary sector is the highest level of decision-making in an economy. It covers top executives, senior government officials and leaders in science, media and policy. Like the quaternary sector, it is treated as a subset of the tertiary (service) sector. It is small in numbers, but its decisions shape the whole economy.
Example
The chief executive of a large company who decides where to build a new plant, or a senior policy-maker who drafts a national scheme, is doing quinary-sector work.
Don't confuse with
- Quaternary sector: this covers knowledge work such as R&D, IT and consulting. An IT engineer is quaternary. The head of the IT company who sets its strategy is quinary.
Related concepts
- Primary sector
- Secondary sector
- Tertiary sector
- Natural products
- Manufactured goods
- Manufacturer
- Service provider
- Industrial divisions
- Quaternary sector