Given below are some statements. Read them carefully and choose the correct statement (s) from the given options.

Statement 1: The proportion of workforce residing in rural areas is more than the urban areas.   

Statement 2: The rural workers constitute about three-fourths of total workforce of India in 2017-18.

Only Statement 1 is correct.

The correct answer is Option 1: Only Statement 1 is correct.

Statement 1: The proportion of workforce residing in rural areas is more than the urban areas. This is true. During 2017-18, India had about a 471 million strong workforce. Since majority of our people reside in rural areas, the proportion of workforce residing there is higher. 

Statement 2: The rural workers constitute about three-fourths of total workforce of India in 2017-18. This is false. The rural workers constitute about two- thirds of this 471 million.

The nature of employment in India is multifaceted. Some get employment throughout the year; some others get employed for only a few months in a year. Many workers do not get fair wages for their work. While estimating the number of workers, all those who are engaged in economic activities are included as employed. You might be interested in knowing the number of people actively engaged in various economic activities. During 2017-18, India had about a 471 million strong workforce. Since majority of our people reside in rural areas, the proportion of workforce residing there is higher. The rural workers constitute about two- thirds of this 471 million. Men form the majority of workforce in India. About 77 per cent of the workers are men and the rest are women(men and women include child labourers in respective sexes). Women workers account for one-fourth of the rural workforce whereas in urban areas, they are just one-fifth of the workforce. Women carry out works like cooking, fetching water and fuelwood and participate in farm labour. They are not paid wages in cash or in the form of grains; at times they are not paid at all. For this reason, these women are not categorised as workers.