Question

Compared to the 1970s, there has hardly been any change in the distribution of workforce across various industries. Comment.

Answer 1

India being an agrarian economy has majority of population dependent on the agricultural sector to earn their livelihood. Although, the developmental strategies in India have aimed at the reduction of population dependent on agriculture, yet the reduction in the population engaged in agricultural sector has not been significant. In 1972-73, about 74 % of the work force was engaged in primary sector which reduced to 60% in 1999-00. On the other hand, the shares of secondary and tertiary sectors in employment rose from 11 % to 16 % and 15 % to 24 % respectively. The work force distribution indicates that over the last three decades i.e. from 1972-2000, people have moved from self-employment and regular salaried employment to casual wage worker. This particular pattern of moving from self employment and regular salaried employment to casual wage work is termed as casualisation of work force. Thus, it can be concluded that although changes in the distribution of workforce have taken place, yet industrial and tertiary sector need to increase their share in the workforce distribution by generating more employment opportunities and absorbing excess labour from the agricultural sector.