Study the following table and answer the questions based on it.
Percentage showing distribution of All Workers by Status of Employment: Self-employed, Regular and Casual workers in Rural and Urban Areas in different years.
| Year | ||||
| 1993-94 | 1999-2000 | 2004-05 | 2009-10 | |
| Rural | ||||
| Self-employed | 58.0 | 55.8 | 60.2 | 54.2 |
| All wage workers | 42.0 | 44.2 | 39.9 | 45.9 |
| Regular | 6.5 | 6.8 | 7.1 | 7.3 |
| Casual | 35.6 | 37.4 | 32.8 | 38.6 |
| Urban | ||||
| Self-employed | 42.3 | 42.2 | 45.4 | 41.1 |
| All wage workers | 57.7 | 57.8 | 54.5 | 58.9 |
| Regular | 39.4 | 40.0 | 39.5 | 41.4 |
| Casual | 18.3 | 17.7 | 15.0 | 17.5 |
"There is a steady increase in the number of regular workers in rural India." What is the reason for this?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Employees get proper salaries and benefits
Option (3) Employees get proper salaries and benefits — Correct. Regular workers are in regular salaried employment. Units of the organised sector have to be registered with the government so that their employees get proper salaries or wages, pension and other benefits. This security makes a regular job attractive, and more rural workers take up such jobs when they can.
NCERT (2025-26): “The Specificity of Indian Industrialisation … Another major difference between developing and developed countries is the number of people in regular salaried employment. In developed countries, the majority are formally employed. In India, over 52% of the workers are selfemployed, only about 24% are in regular salaried employment, while approximately 24% are in casual labour.…” “Economists and others often make a distinction between the organised or formal and unorganised or informal sector. There is a debate over how to define these sectors. According to one definition, the organised sector consists of all units employing ten or more people throughout the year. These have to be registered with the government to ensure that their employees get proper salaries or wages, pension and other benefits. In India, over 90% of the work, whether it is in agriculture, industry or services is in the unorganised or informal sector.…” |