A robust at 16.2% growth for India in services export has made India outpace not just China but rest of the world. (Image: Reuters)

A robust at 16.2% growth for India in services export in the first half of the year 2017 has made India outpace not just China but rest of the world, data compiled by the Economic Survey 2018 showed. India’s services export, which was racing against China and the rest of the world in terms of annual growth until 2015, clearly outpaced them in terms of annual growth.

India’s services export between 2011 and 2012, too, outpaced both China and rest of the world after China witnessed a sharp decline perhaps as a result of the 2008 financial crisis. But India could not maintain the status for too long. The services export took over India soon after 2012.

Post 2013, India came neck and neck with China until 2015 when it started outpacing both with a robust growth continuing for over two years now. “Services exports recorded a robust growth of 16.2% during April-September 2017-18, with a turnaround in some major sectors like travel and software services,” the Economic Survey 2018 noted.

And, moreover, the survey also predicted that India’s service exports are going to improve further in 2017-18. “Good performance of sub-sectors like Tourism, Aviation, and Telecom, robust services trade performance with even growth of major services like software returning to positive territory,” it added.

The provisional data mapping the growth of India’s services export seems to back the survey prediction. Between April 2017 and February 2018, India’s services export registered a growth a whopping 17.6% even as the higher trade deficit continues to pose a challenge for India.