The bar graph illustrates the relative percentage contributions made by the agricultural, industrial, and service sectors towards the Indian economy between 1960 and 2000.

Over the whole time period, the significance of agriculture declined steadily while the service sector grew in importance decade by decade. A different pattern emerged for industry, which initially showed a slowly increasing percentage but the plateaued from 1980 onwards. In 1960, agriculture contributed by far towards the economic prosperity of the country, reaching the maximum of 60%, but it then dropped in steady increments to well below a quarter by 2000. The service sector, on the other hand, had a relatively minor impact on the economy in 1960. This situation changed gradually at first, then its percentage contribution moving from 28% to 43% between 1989 and 1990. By 2000 it matched the high point reached by agriculture showing the overall reversed tread. Industry remained a steady contributor to India's wealth throughout the period. As a sector, it grew marginally from 16% in 1960 to a quarter in 1980 and then remained static for the next two decades, maintaining a constant share of overall GDP.