2.2 Rural Non-Agricultural Sector in India: An Outline
2.2.3. Spatial Variations in Rural Non-Agricultural Workforce Size
Sectors
Increase in Workers per year in Lakhs Per cent Share in Incremental Workers
1983 to 1993-94 1993-94 to 2009-10 1983 to 1993-94 1993-94 to 2009-10
Manufacturing 3.46 2.4 8.1 8.96
Utilities 0.22 -0.31 0.52 -1.14
Construction 2.74 15.5 6.41 57.88
Wholesale Trade 0.13 0.53 0.3 1.98
Retail Trade
3.14 4.35 7.34 16.24
Trade
3.26 4.88 7.64 18.23
Hotels and restaurants
0.45 0.81 1.06 3.04
Transport, Storage and
Communication 1.42 3.47 3.33 12.96
Other Services
4.37 0.96 10.23 3.6
Non-agricultural Activities
16.43 26.76 38.43 99.95
All sectors
42.75 26.77 100 100
Source: Bhaumik, 2013, Table 7, pp. 361
driver of this growth. They observe that agriculturally developed regions seldom had low levels of rural non-agricultural employment.
In 1977-78, Kerala was the only state with more than 25 per cent of its rural workforce in this sector. Employment shares in the rural non-agricultural sector grew since 1983, in nearly all states (Himanshu et al., 2011). However, there were differences in the size of shares (refer Table 2-6) and its growth. Post-1993-94, the number of states with more than 25 per cent of employment share in the rural non-agricultural sector, progressively increased. By 1999-00 Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Punjab, J&K and Himachal Pradesh figured in this group. In the period 1999-00 to 2004-05, there was a pronounced increase in the share of the rural non-agricultural workforce in Odisha.
Between 2004–2005 and 2011–2012, the share of rural non-agricultural workforce increased in most of the states, including the states of Bihar, Assam, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand (Himanshu, 2014, cited in Dev, 2017).
Some states like Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana consistently had relatively high shares of the rural non-agricultural workforce. Dev (2017) attributes this to the Green Revolution. He reinforces his claim by showing that states like Maharashtra, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, with low agricultural productivity, had relatively lower shares of rural non-agricultural employment. Chadha (2007) attributes the high shares in Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu to their prominent rural manufacturing segment that traditionally employed females in rural handicrafts. In these states, employment in the rural manufacturing segment varied from 13.2 per cent to 15.1 per cent in 1993-94 and from 12 per cent to 19 per cent in 2011-12 (refer Table 2-7). By 2011-12, Punjab
Table 2-6 Share of Rural Non-Agricultural Workers in Rural Workforce (in %)
1977-78$ 1983 1993-94 1999-00 2004-05* 2011-12#
Kerala (34.6) Kerala (36.9) Kerala (43.9) Kerala (51.2) Kerala (58.1) Kerala (71) West Bengal
(24.4)
West Bengal (26.3)
West Bengal (36.4)
West Bengal (37.0)
West Bengal (37.3)
Tamil Nadu (52)
Tamil Nadu (22.0)
Tamil Nadu (25.1)
Tamil Nadu (29.6) Assam (32.3) Haryana (36.4) West Bengal (48)
Punjab (18.5) Haryana (22.3) Haryana (28.1) Tamil Nadu (31.7) Tamil Nadu (34.8)
Orissa (39)
Haryana (18.3)
Orissa (20.8) Punjab (25.4) Haryana (30.2) Punjab (33.3) Bihar (34)
Andhra Pradesh (17.6)
Assam (20.0) J&K (24.4) Punjab (27.1) Orissa (31.1) Gujarat (26)
Uttar Pradesh (17.3)
J&K (19.8) Gujarat (21.3) J&K (27.0) Uttar Pradesh (28.4)
Chattisgarh (16)
Bihar (15.3)
Ka
Andhra Pradesh (19.7)
Assam (21.2) Himachal Pradesh (25.2)
Andhra Pradesh (28.4) Karnataka
(15.2)
Punjab (17.4) Andhra Pradesh (20.7)
Uttar Pradesh (23.6)
Rajasthan (27.2) Orissa (15.0) Bihar (16.4) Rajasthan (20.2) Rajasthan (22.1) Assam (25.3)
Maharashtra (14.2)
Karnataka (15.5) Uttar Pradesh (20.0)
Orissa (21.4) Bihar (25.1)
Gujarat (13.0) Gujarat (14.8) Himachal Pradesh (19.8)
Andhra Pradesh (21.2)
Gujarat (22.7)
Himachal Pradesh (12.2)
Maharashtra (14.2)
Orissa (19.0) Gujarat (19.6) Maharashtra (20.1) Rajasthan
(11.6)
Rajasthan (13.3) Maharashtra (17.4)
Bihar (19.3) Karnataka (19.0) Madhya
Pradesh (8.6)
Himachal Pradesh (12.4)
Bihar (15.8) Karnataka (17.8) Madhya Pradesh (17.0) Madhya Pradesh
(12.8)
Madhya Pradesh (10.1)
Madhya Pradesh (12.8)
Source: $Unni, 1991; *Bhaumik, 2007; Chadha, 2007; # Dev, 2017
also had a two-digit share of the workforce in the rural manufacturing segment. The share of the workforce in construction also increased to two-digit figures in the states of Punjab and Haryana in 2011-12. The spectacular high shares of the rural non-agricultural workforce in Kerala: 58 per cent in 2004-05 (Bhaumik, 2007) and 71 per cent in 2011-12
trade and financial and insurance services segments. Increase in rural workforce shares also took place across similar segments in Tamil Nadu but the quantum of increase was
Table 2-7 All-India and Selected State-wise Distribution of UPSS Rural Workers (in %) across Industry Sections for the 50th and 68th Rounds18
State
Manufactur-
ing Construction
Wholesale/
Retail Trade etc.
Transport and Storage
Financial, Insurance Activities
Commu- nity etc.
services Note1
Services Note 2 1993
-94 2011-
12 1993
-94 2011-
12
1993- 94
2011- 12
1993- 94
2011 -12
1993- 94
2011-
12 1993-94 2011-12
Haryana 5.2 9.8 6 14.3 6.7 6.5 4.8 3.6 0.3 3.1 13.1 6.0
Himachal
Pradesh 3.9 4.1 8 15.3 3.5 3.2 1.1 3.4 0.2 4.7 6.5 7.4
J&K 5.3 8 9.1 20.3 3.7 5.7 4 2.7 0.8 2.1 11 9.5
Punjab 6.2 11 4.5 16.2 6.1 5.6 3.4 3.6 0.5 6.8 10 7.5
U.P. 6.7 8.6 2.3 13.4 4.6 5.5 1.7 2.6 0.2 1.8 5.9 4.5
Assam 2.3 5.5 0.8 6.6 7.3 12.1 1.5 3.2 0.3 2.2 8.7 6.7
Bihar 3.6 4.8 1.3 10.4 4.8 7.1 1.1 2.4 0.2 2.9 4.8 6.5
Orissa 6.1 9.6 2.1 12.3 4.8 6.0 0.8 2.4 0.1 2.2 5 5.7
West
Bengal 15.1 19 2.8 8.4 8.4 6.4 3.2 3.5 0.5 4.2 8 5.9
Gujarat 10.4 8.3 2.7 4.3 3.2 4.8 -
1.6
2.8 0.4 1.4 4.8 3.9
M.P. 3.4 4.8 0.9 12.9 1.7 3.8 0.5 1.3 0.1 2.2 2.8 3.5
Maharash-
tra 5.2 5.9 2.5 5.2 3.2 4.2 1.2 2 0.4 2.8 5 2.1
Rajasthan 4.1 5.2 8.2 20.3 2.7 4.5 1.2 2.6 0.2 0.6 4.5 4.0
Andhra
Pradesh 6.9 7.8 1.8 6.7 4.5 5.2 1 3.2 0.2 2.9 5.7 5.0
Karnataka 6.9 9.4 1.6 4.3 3.8 4.8 0.8 3.3 0.2 4.4 5.3 5.4
Kerala 13.4 12 6.4 18.5 10.2 11.1 4.6 8 1.2 15.3 10.2 9.9
Tamil
Nadu 13.2 15 2.4 15.5 4.8 5.2 2.2 3.7 0.9 7.7 6.5 6.3
all-India 7.1 8.6 2.6 11.1 4.6 5.6 1.6 2.9 0.3 3.3 5.9 5.3
Source: Computed from NSSO 50th and 68th quinquennial surveys on Employment and Unemployment in India
smaller. Unlike Kerala and Tamil Nadu, West Bengal did not see a major expansion of its construction segment. The observed increase in rural non- agricultural employment across most states in 2011-12, was primarily driven by increased employment
18 Note1: Community etc. services was an industry section in the industry section nomenclature used in Report No. 409: Employment and Unemployment in India, 1993-94:NSS 50th Round but absent in the nomenclature of National Industrial Classification Key Indicators of Employment and Unemployment in India,2011-12: NSS 68th Round
Note2: In the report, Key Indicators of Employment and Unemployment in India,2011-12: NSS 68th Round distribution of workers as per National Industrial Classification 2008 is followed. National Industrial Classification 2008 introduced further activity classification. The activities Accommodation, Food Services; Education; Other Services and Public Administration were absent in Report No. 409, NSS 50th Round as it is based on an earlier National Industrial Classification. These new activity classifications
opportunities in the construction segment followed by wholesale and retail trade and transport and storage and financial services segments.
Bihar, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka were some of the states with low rural occupational diversification. Jatav and Sen (2013) attribute low shares of rural non-agricultural workforce in Maharashtra and Karnataka, to a well-developed urban non-agricultural sector that provided employment opportunities to rural job seekers. Varying factors such as economic backwardness, low agricultural productivity were responsible for low shares of rural non-agricultural workforce in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Maharashtra and Karnataka (Dev, 2017).
Odisha, a poor state emerged as an exception due to expansion of construction activities.