Liberalisation and job creation in unorganised manufacturing sector of India

The unorganised manufacturing sector has been a major sector in the Indian economy, which provides employment to 92 per cent of the labour force and has remained neglected so far. The organised sector accounts for the larger share in manufacturing output but the contribution of unorganised segment to total manufacturing employment is huge. It has been reported that the size of unorganised manufacturing employment is three times higher than the organised manufacturing employment. This paper studies the growth and determinants of unorganised manufacturing employment in the Indian economy; and analyses the industrial and regional compositions of unorganised manufacturing employment in India. In the Indian context of post economic reforms, the rate of growth of the economy and the rate of growth of employment have accelerated, but the economy as also employment remains undiversified. The quality of employment remains very poor for a major portion of workers and the conditions of work seems to have deteriorated in terms of social security and other amenities. Given the crucial role of the manufacturing sector in India's economic growth, more attention needs to be directed to this sector.