[NCERT] Employment-Growth, Informalisation and Related Issues Solutions for Class 12 Indian Economic Development

Employment-Growth, Informalisation and Related Issues NCERT chapter 6 Solutions for Class 12 Indian Economic Development

NCERT TEXTUAL QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS

Q. 1. Who is a worker?

Ans.

A worker is someone who plays a role in creating products or services and helps keep the economy running smoothly.

Q. 2. Define worker-population ratio.

Ans.

The worker population refers to the part of people who are actively involved in making goods and providing services. To find the worker-population ratio, you take the total number of workers and divide it by the total population, then multiply by 100. This ratio is a useful way to understand how many people are employed in a country at any given time. You can express it using this formula:

$Worker Population Ratio = \frac{Total Workforce}{Total Population} \times 100$

Q. 3 Are the following workers – a beggar, a thief, a smuggler, a gambler? Why?

Ans.

None of these individuals can be considered workers since they aren’t engaged in any activities that contribute to the country’s GDP.

Q. 4. Find the odd man out: (i) owner of a saloon; (ii) a cobbler; (iii) a cashier in Mother Dairy; (iv) a tuition master; (v) transport operator; (vi) construction worker.

Ans.

(iii) and (vi) are odd ones. A cashier in Mother Dairy is a regular salaried employee and construction worker is a casual worker. All others are self-employed.

Q. 5. The newly emerging jobs are found mostly in the _____ sector (service/manufacturing).

Ans. Service.

Q. 6. An establishment with four hired workers is known as __________ (formal/informal) sector establishment.

Ans. Informal

Q. 7. Raj is going to school. When he is not in school, you will find him working in his farm. Can you consider him as a worker? Why?

Ans.

Yes, Raj can be considered as a worker. As he is involved in productive activity that is contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP) by rendering his productive activities. So, Raj is a worker.

Q. 8. Compared to urban women, more rural women are found working. Why?

Ans.

In rural areas, about 30% of women are part of the workforce, while in urban areas, the percentage is only around 14%. There are a few reasons for this difference:

1. In agriculture and related jobs, women don’t need special skills or training. This makes it easier for rural women to find work and help their families.
2. Many families in rural areas face poverty, so women often take jobs to earn money and support their households.
3. Families living in urban areas usually earn more money, which means that there is less need for women in those families to work outside the home.

Q. 9. Meena is a housewife. Besides taking care of household chores, she works in the cloth shop which is owned and operated by her husband. Can she be considered as a worker? Why?

Ans.

A worker is someone who takes part in making things and helps generate the gross domestic product (GDP).

Meena works in the clothing shop that her husband owns, so she should be seen as a worker.

However, in India, many women like her are not recognized as workers and don’t get paid for the work they do.

Q. 10. Find the odd man out (i) rickshow puller who works under a rickshaw owner (ii) mason (iii) mechanic shop worker (iv) shoeshine boy.

Ans.

Shoe Shine boy is the odd man out.

All others (rickshow puller, mason and the mechanic shop worker) are hider workers. They render their services to their employees and in return, get salaries or wages. On the other hand, shoe shine boy is a self-employed worker and carries out his occupation himself.

Q. 11. The following table shows distribution of workforce in India for the year 1972 – 73. Analyse it and give reasons for the nature of workforce distribution. You will notice that the date is pertaining to the situation in India 30 years ago.

Ans.

We can look at the following points using the provided data:

More People in Rural Areas: In 1972-73, India’s total workforce was 233 million. Out of this, a large majority—83%, or 194 million people—were from rural areas, while only 17% (39 million) lived in cities. This was mainly because most people in rural areas worked in farming and related jobs.

More Males than Females: Men made up a larger part of the workforce in both rural and urban areas. In rural areas, there were about 125 million men (around 64%) compared to just 69 million women (around 36%). In cities, men represented about 82% of the workforce, while women only made up 18%. Men had more work opportunities because women often faced challenges in getting an education and were usually expected to stay at home.

More Rural Women at Work: Although there were fewer women in the workforce overall, in rural areas, women made up 36% of the workers, which is higher than the 18% of women working in urban areas.

Q. 12. The following table shows the population and worker population ratio for India in 1999-2000. Can you estimate the workforce (urban and total) for India?

Region	Estimates of Population (in Crores)	Worker Population Ratio	Estimated No. of Workers (in Crores)
Rural	71.88	41.9	71.88/100 x 41.9 = 30.12
Urban	28.52	33.7	?
Total	100.40	39.5	?

Ans.

Urban Workforce = 28.52/100 x 33.7 = 9.61 Crores

Total Workforce = 30.12 + 9.61 = 39.73 Crores

Q. 13. Why are regular salaries employees more in urban areas than in rural areas?

Ans.

Salaried employees are those who have permanent jobs with a company and receive a set salary.

This is often the case for skilled workers. Many salaried jobs are found in cities because these jobs typically require special skills.

Urban areas have training centers where people can learn and improve these skills, enabling them to earn a steady salary.

Education and training that provide these skills are less available in rural areas. Companies usually seek skilled workers who are available in cities.

As a result, there are more salaried employees in urban areas compared to rural areas.

On the other hand, only 7% of rural people are engaged as regular salaried employees due to illiteracy and lack of skills.

Q. 14. Why are less woman found in regular salaried employment?

Ans.

Due to the following reasons less woman found in regular salaries employment.

(i) Lesser women are found in regular salaries employment in Indiaa, as such jobs require skills and high level of literacy.

(ii) Lack of mobility among women in India due to social constraints.

Q. 15. Analyse the recent trends in sectoral distribution of workforce in India.

Ans.

Q. 16. Compared to the 1970s, there has hardly been any change in the distribution of workforce across various industries. Comment.

Ans.

The given statement is correct. As India is an agrarian economy, majority of its population depend on the agricultural sector to earn livelihood.

Although, the development strategies in India have aimed at the reduction of population dependent on agriculture, yet there has not been any significant reduction.

• In 1972-73, about 74.3% of workforce was engaged in primary sector, which declined to 48.9% in 2011-12.

• On the other hand, shares of secondary and service sectors increased from 10.9% to 24.3% and from 14.8% to 26.8% respectively.

Q. 17. Do you think that during 1950-2010 employment generated in the country is commensurate with the growth of GDP in India? How?

Ans.

No, the number of jobs created in the country doesn’t match the growth of the economy, which we measure by GDP. Usually, when a country produces more goods and services, it also creates more job opportunities.

• However, in the last 50 years, India has experienced what is called “jobless economic growth.” This means that while the GDP has been growing, the number of jobs available has not increased much.

• This situation happened because the growth in GDP was mainly due to the use of new technologies that replaced workers with machines. As a result, it did not create many new jobs, and the growth in employment started to decline to levels similar to what India had when it first started planning its economy.

Q. 18. Is it necessary to generate employment in the formal sector rather than in the informal sector? Why?

Ans.

Creating jobs in the formal sector is important for several reasons:

1. Jobs in the formal sector come with benefits like pensions, bonuses, and savings plans, which you usually don’t get in informal jobs.
2. In the formal sector, workers can count on getting a steady salary every month.
3. People who work in formal jobs often earn more money than those in informal work.
4. By creating more jobs in the formal sector, we can help reduce poverty and narrow the income gap between different groups of people.

On the other hand, people engaged in the informal sector do not enjoy any social security benefits and do not have any protection or regulation from the government. As a result, informal workers are generally very poor and live in slums.

So, it is necessary to generate employment in the formal sector rather than in the informal sector as more jobs in the formal sector will not only absorb workforce from the informal sector but will also help in reducing poverty and income inequalities.

Q. 19. Victor is able to get work only for two hours in a day. Rest of the day, he is looking for work. Is he unemployed? Why? What kind of jobs could persons like Victor be doing?

Ans.

No, Victor is not unemployed. According to economists, “Unemployed Person is the one who is not able to get employment of even one hour in half a day”. As Victor is getting work for two hours in a day, he is not employed.

Victor is a “Casual Worker” and would be doing temporary jobs.

Q. 20. You are residing in a village. If you are asked to advice the village panchayat, what kinds of activities would you suggest for the improvement of your village which would also generate employment.

Ans.

Here are two activities that could help improve the village and create job opportunities:

(i) Start small-scale and cottage industries:

Setting up small factories and home-based businesses can create new jobs for people. These industries will also help larger companies by supplying them with raw materials they need.

(ii) Promote non-farm jobs:

Many people in India face disguised or seasonal unemployment, meaning they often don’t have steady jobs. To help them, we should encourage work in areas outside of farming, such as pottery, handicrafts, and similar crafts.

Q. 21. Who is a casual wage labourer?

Ans. Casual wage labourer is the one who is casually engaged and get remuneration for the work done. He is not hired on a permanent basis and he does enjoy social benefits and protection from the government.

Q. 22. How will you know whether a worker is working in the informal sector?

A worker is considered to be in the informal sector if:

1. They work in a small business that has less than 10 employees. This can include farmers, agricultural workers, or owners of small shops.
2. They do not earn a steady income and are not protected or regulated by the government.
3. They can be fired from their job without receiving any money or benefits as compensation.