Who among the following form part of the informal sector in India?
(A) Farmers and agricultural labourers
(B) Self-employed persons who do not have any hired workers
(C) Workers of a private factory that employs 25 hired workers
(D) Non-farm casual wage labourers who work for more than one employer
(E) Teachers in a government school
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A), (B) and (D) only
All public establishments, and private ones with 10 or more hired workers, are formal. All other enterprises and their workers form the informal sector.
(A) Farmers and agricultural labourers — Correct. Millions of farmers and agricultural labourers are informal workers.
(B) Self-employed persons who do not have any hired workers — Correct. They are named as part of the informal sector.
(C) Workers of a private factory that employs 25 hired workers — Incorrect. With 25 hired workers the factory is a formal sector establishment.
(D) Non-farm casual wage labourers who work for more than one employer — Correct. Construction and headload workers are examples.
(E) Teachers in a government school — Incorrect. A government school is a public sector establishment, so it is formal.
NCERT (2026-27): “6.7 Informalisation of Indian Workforce … All the public sector establishments and those private sector establishments which employ 10 hired workers or more are called formal sector establishments and those who work in such establishments are formal sector workers. All other enterprises and workers working in those enterprises form the informal sector. Thus, informal sector includes millions of farmers, agricultural labourers, owners of small enterprises and people working in those enterprises as also the self-employed who do not have any hired workers. It also includes all non-farm casual wage labourers who work for more than one employer such as construction workers and headload workers. …” |