INFORMAL ECONOMY
An overwhelming majority of the Indian
working population is employed in the informal economy.
Of the total working population of 317 million, about 290.2
million (92%) are employed in this sector, and this sector
has been growing rapidly in recent years. Given the nature
of their work, these workers continue to be undercounted.
In India, this situation is complicated by the fact that
as high as 97% of women workers have been estimated to be
employed in this sector. These women work in markets, homes,
fields, forests, along riverbanks and in the desert. Unlike
regular workers in factories and offices, they neither earn
salaries nor enjoy the welfare benefits of workers in the
organised sector, and are rather paid on a daily wage basis.
They are self-employed, casual, contract, temporary, seasonal
or migrant. As in many other areas of the world, the work
of this population often goes unrecognized, and their employment
is unprotected. Most existing labour laws either do not
apply to them or are easily evaded, as these women do not
have a formal employer-employee relationship. In addition,
availability of social security in India is inversely related
to socio-economic status. This leaves these women workers
at the mercy of local money lenders. For more information
on the informal economy, you can learn more at the website
of National Council Applied Economics And Research http://www.ncaer.org/.
