The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (Mospi) is open to refining the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) to generate more granular and actionable data for the handloom and handicraft sector. According to Mospi Secretary Saurabh Garg, the ministry is willing to incorporate sector-specific suggestions to improve its annual survey to get the kind of data required for decision-making in handloom and handicraft areas. Speaking at an event organised by the Crafts Council of India (CCI) and the Institute for Human Development (IHD), Garg emphasized that the ministry's surveys routinely cover sample sizes of between one lakh and five lakh respondents, with data-driven decision-making increasingly being recognized as central to policy.
According to the latest Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE), earnings in India's unincorporated non-agricultural sector remained modest across manufacturing, trade and services sectors. Average daily earnings in these sectors were below even the minimum-wage benchmark for unskilled non-agricultural work in smaller towns and non-metro areas, as reported by Business Standard. The data reveals a significant disparity between informal sector compensation and formal minimum wage requirements, with the gap widening when compared with wage categories for semi-skilled and skilled workers. A comprehensive survey by CCI and IHD covering 15 districts across five states found that handloom and handicraft establishments account for roughly 42% of all manufacturing establishments in the surveyed states, yet the sector's average annual gross value added per worker stands at only around ₹84,000, or approximately ₹270 per day — well below the prescribed minimum wage.
Recent labour protests across the NCR and other regions have brought to light the perils of overwhelming informalisation even in organised sectors. The protests in Manesar, Noida, Faridabad, Panipat and other places manifest the precarity of India's labour market, with workers demanding revision of minimum wages, eight-hour working days, overtime pay, provision of drinking water, toilet facilities, and safety provisions. As reported by The Wire, these demands highlight the absence of basic labour rights at workplaces, with employers being big, formal sector enterprises but the majority of workers being contract and casual workers. The protests demonstrate a breakdown of collective bargaining machinery and lack of union mobilisation among contract workers.
The data points to the continued dominance of own-account enterprises in India's informal sector, according to the ASUSE findings. However, the situation has worsened with contract workers' share rising from 12% in 1990-91 to 33.6% in 2013-14 in organised manufacturing, while their wage share increased from 58.7% in 1999-2000 to 81.5% in 2013-14. This trend of contractualisation aims to enhance operational flexibility and reduce labour costs, but often leads to job insecurity, wage disparities and lack of social security benefits. The overall outcome shows that the share of informal workers within India's total workforce is 90%, highlighting the widespread nature of informal employment across both organised and unorganised sectors.
The handloom and handicraft sector represents a critical intersection of the informal economy and knowledge economy, with over 50% of all Geographical Indications issued in India belonging to this sector. As noted by Garg, more than 455 craft categories have been identified and listed, making it a priority area for measurement under the government's Viksit Bharat 2047 framework. The combined workforce in the sector is estimated at around 1.13 crore workers across 65 lakh establishments, with the issue of women workers making it all the more important to ensure access to credit, markets, and skilling. The upcoming Economic Census is identified as another opportunity to expand the data landscape for this sector, addressing the current gap where the sector's productivity remains significantly below formal wage benchmarks despite its substantial contribution to India's manufacturing landscape.
