The Pyramid of Industries
The Pyramid of Industries stacks 36 industries by what they depend on. At the base sit the material world and the energy system; each stratum draws on those below it. Every industry has its value chain, the share of each ₹100 of output spent on commodities, chemicals and energy, its price links with suppliers, and its chokepoints.
Stratum 7: Apex
- Public administration, defence and security: Governments raising taxes to fund law, defence, regulation and public services
Stratum 6: Integrated services
- Healthcare services: Hospitals, clinics, laboratories and pharmacies that diagnose, treat and care for patients
- E-commerce and digital marketplaces: Online marketplaces and apps linking sellers, payments, warehouses and delivery fleets
- Hospitality and tourism: Hotels, restaurants, airlines, attractions and booking sites serving travellers
- AI and digital platforms: Model builders and apps selling AI as assistants, APIs and copilots, not hardware
- Professional services: Audit, tax, legal, consulting and engineering design firms selling expert judgement
Stratum 5: Information and capital
- Education and research: Schools, universities, training providers and public or corporate labs building skills
- Finance: banking, insurance, markets: Banks, insurers, markets and payment rails that lend, insure and invest money
- Media and entertainment: Film, television, music, news, games and live events funded by viewers and ads
- Software and IT services: Operating systems, business applications and outsourced IT services, a core Indian export
Stratum 4: Networks and systems
- Wholesale and retail trade: Distributors, warehouses and stores moving finished goods from factories to households
- Transport and logistics: Shipping, road, rail and air freight, warehousing and passenger transport operators
- Data centres and cloud: Server halls and cloud providers renting compute, storage and networks; heavy power users
- Telecommunications: Mobile, fibre, subsea cable and satellite operators carrying voice and data
- Aerospace and defence: Civil aircraft, military platforms, weapons, satellites and launch vehicle makers
- Medical devices: Syringes, implants, scanners, monitors and diagnostic tests for hospitals and clinics
Stratum 3: Complex manufacturing and the built world
- Real estate: Developers, landlords and managers of homes, offices, warehouses and shops
- Construction and infrastructure: Contractors building roads, rail, ports, power and water networks and buildings
- Vehicles, ships, rail, aircraft: Cars, two-wheelers, trucks, ships, rail and aircraft makers and suppliers
- Computers and electronics: Assemblers turning chips and displays into phones, PCs, servers and consumer devices
- Semiconductors: Chip designers and fabs making logic, memory, analogue and power chips from silicon
Stratum 2: Assembled goods
- Furniture: Makers and sellers of home, office and outdoor furniture, mattresses and kitchens
- Food and beverage processing: Processors turning crops, milk, meat and fish into packaged, branded food and drink
- Pharmaceuticals: Drug discovery, manufacturing and distribution, from small-molecule generics to biologics
- Machinery and equipment: Machine tools, construction and mining equipment, tractors, pumps and process plant
- Household and personal care: Detergents, soaps, shampoos, skin and oral care, tissue and nappies for consumers
- Apparel and footwear: Brands and garment makers selling finished clothing, shoes and accessories to shoppers
Stratum 1: First transformations
- Water and sanitation: Utilities and treatment firms supplying clean water and handling wastewater and sludge
- Metal products: Fabricators making castings, forgings, tubes, fasteners and cans from steel and metals
- Building materials: Cement, concrete, bricks, tiles, glass and gypsum board made from quarried minerals
- Plastic and rubber products: Converters moulding resins and rubber into packaging, pipes, films, tyres and seals
- Wood products: Sawmills and panel makers producing plywood, MDF, engineered timber and wood pellets
- Waste and recycling: Collecting, sorting and treating waste, returning metals, paper and plastics to use
- Textiles and leather: Spinning, weaving and processing fibres into yarn and fabric, and hides into leather
- Paper and packaging: Pulp and paper mills and converters making boxes, cartons, sacks and tissue
- Electrical equipment: Makers of motors, transformers, switchgear, cables and inverters for power systems