• All activities that give an income in return are called economic activities. Example, people going for work in factories, banks, schools, etc.
• Economic activities can be classified into different sectors on the basis of nature of work.
• Primary sector : Goods which are produced by exploiting natural resources come under the category of primary sector. This sector is also called agriculture and related sector, e.g. - cotton which is a natural product.
• Secondary sector : Transformation of one good into another comes under the category of secondary sector. Manufacturing is one of the important components of this sector. Example : Transformation of sugarcane into sugar.
• Tertiary sector : All production units producing services which help in the development of primary and secondary sectors come under the category of tertiary sector. This is also known as service sector. Example – Services given by doctors, teachers, lawyers etc.
• These three sectors are highly interdependent on one another. This can be explained with the help of an example : Farmers buy goods such as tractors, pump sets, fertilisers (manufacturing sector) to produce agricultural goods (primary sector). This shows dependence of primary sector on secondary sector. Now farmers want to sell their output.
  For this, they need transport facilities. It shows dependence of primary sector on tertiary sector.
• There are thousands of goods and services produced in an economy. We cannot add different types of goods in practice. So the value of these goods and services should be used rather adding up the actual numbers.
• Comparison can be done among these three sectors on the basis of value of final goods and services produced.
• The value of final goods and services produced in each sector during a particular year provides the total production of the sector for that year and the sum of production in these sectors gives us gross domestic product (GDP) of a country.
• Tertiary sector has emerged as the largest sector because it helps in the development of primary and secondary sectors. Several services such as hospitals, banks, insurance companies, transport, educational institutions are the basic services which are required by primary and secondary sectors for their normal functioning.
• Organised sector covers those enterprises or places of work where the terms of employment are regular. They are registered by the government and have to follow its rules and regulations. Therefore people have job security.
• Unorganised sector covers small and scattered units which are largely outside the control of the government. There are rules and regulations but they are generally not being implemented by the unorganised sector. Employment is not secure in the unorganished sector.
• In unorganised sector protection and support is required for the workers for their economic and social development. Besides getting irregular and low paid work, they also face social discrimination.
• Public sector is the sector which is owned, controlled and managed by the government. Activities in the government sector are guided by the motive of social welfare and not to earn profit.
• In private sector ownership of production units is in the hands of private individuals. Activities in the private sector are mainly guided by the motive to earn profit. Example :TISCO and RIL.
• Employment is an activity from which a person earns the means of living, i.e. income in cash or in kind.
• Unemployment refers to a situation where the persons who are able to work and are willing to work, fail to secure work.
• Underemployment is a situation in which a worker gets work for less time than the time he can work. In other words, he remains unemployed for some months is a year or some hours every day.
• There was a big change in the share of three sectors in G.D.P. (from 1973 to 2000) but data show that such similar shift has not been taken place in terms of employment.
  • In secondary sector output went up by 8 times but in terms of employment it rose up by only 2.5 times.
  • In tertiary sector output went up 11 times whereas employment rose up 3 times.
• Government can create more employment opportunities by providing better infrastructure such as roads, dams, canals etc. Further, this can be enhanced by providing services like banks, transport and communication.
  • Set up industries that process vegetables and agricultural produce like potatoes, rice, wheat, tomato, fruits which can be sold in outside markets. This will provide employment in industries located in semi-rural areas.
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme-2005 (NREGA2005) This act is implemented as “Right to Work” in all the 604 districts of India. Under this act, all those who are able to work and are in need of work have been guaranteed 100 days of employment in a year by the government. However, only one person per family is
  entitled to this benefit.

Division of Sectors as Organised and Unorganised

Organised Sector	Unorganised Sector
It is a sector where the employment terms are fixed and regular, and the employees get assured work.	The unorganised sector is characterised by small and scattered units, which are largely outside the control of the government.
They are registered by the government and have to follow its rules and regulations, which are given in various laws such as the Factories Act, Minimum Wages Act, Payment of Gratuity Act, Shops and Establishments Act, etc.	There are rules and regulations but these are not followed since they are not registered with the government.
The job is regular and has fixed working hours. If people work more, they get paid for the overtime by the employer.	Jobs are low-paid and often not regular.
Workers enjoy the security of employment.	Employment is not secure. People can be asked to leave without any reason.
People working in the organised sector get several other benefits from the employers, such as paid leave, payment during holidays, provident fund, gratuity, etc.	There is no provision for overtime, paid leave, holidays, leave due to sickness, etc.
People get medical benefits. The factory manager has to ensure facilities like drinking water and a safe working environment. When they retire, these workers get pensions as well.	There are no such facilities in the unorganised sector.
Examples of the organised sectors are Government employees, registered industrial workers, Anganwadi workers, village health workers, etc.	Examples of the unorganised sectors are Shopkeeping, Farming, Domestic works, Labouring, Rickshaw pulling, etc.

How to Protect Workers in Unorganised Sector?

There is a need for protection and support of the workers in the unorganised sector. Here are a few points which will help in doing so.

1. The government can fix the minimum wage rate and working hours.
2. The government can provide cheap loans to self-employed people.
3. Government can provide cheap and affordable basic services like education, health, food to these workers.
4. The government can frame new laws which can provide provisions for overtime, paid leave, leave due to sickness, etc.

Sectors in Term of Ownership: Public and Private Sectors

Public Sector	Private Sector
In the public sector, the government owns most of the assets and provides all the services.	In the private sector, ownership of assets and delivery of services is in the hands of private individuals or companies.
Railways or post office is an example of the public sector.	Companies like Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO) or Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) are privately owned companies.
The purpose of the public sector is not just to earn profits. Its main aim is public welfare.	Activities in the private sector are guided by the motive to earn profits.

Responsibilities of Government

There are a large number of activities which are the primary responsibility of the government. Here, we have listed a few of them:

1. Government raises money through taxes and other ways to meet expenses on the services rendered by it.
2. Governments have to undertake heavy spending such as the construction of roads, bridges, railways, harbours, generating electricity, providing irrigation through dams, etc. Also, it has to ensure that these facilities are available for everyone.
3. There are some activities which the government has to support to encourage the private sector to continue their production or business.
4. The government in India buys wheat and rice from farmers at a ‘fair price’ and sells them at a lower price to consumers through ration shops. In this way, it supports both farmers and consumers.
5. Running proper schools and providing quality education, health and education facilities for all are some of the duties of the government.
6. The government also needs to pay attention to aspects of human development such as the availability of safe drinking water, housing facilities for the poor, food and nutrition, and taking care of the poorest and most ignored regions of the country.