Over the past few years, there has been a major debate in India on the relative importance of services sector vis-v-vis manufacturing and agriculture. Economists say services now account for nearly 50% of our GDP, and their growth at 8 to 10% per annum is outpacing both industry and agriculture. Some claim that the rise in service sector's GDP marks a structural shift in the Indian economy and takes it closer to the fundamentals of a developed economy.

The chief concern of an average urban middle-class housewife is her child’s admission to a prestigious private English medium school, or her inability to get cheap hired domestic help, preferably a child worker. Six years ago RK Laxman drew an insightful cartoon that depicts our society. Two boys – one healthy, standing erect in school uniform; the other weak, ill-clad and groaning under the weight of a load of books and lunch box with two ladies looking on. The mother of the uniformed child tells her companion, “It’s really cruel burdening the kids like this!