Q: How do you view the growth of informal sector in india ?

Model Answer:

Coined by Keith Hart, the informal sector employs nearly 90% of India’s workforce. Sociologically, it is not merely an economic anomaly but a structural feature of post-colonial capitalism.

Sociological Dimensions of Informality

• Structural Reality: Kalyan Sanyal (Rethinking Capitalist Development) frames informality as a survivalist “need economy” coexisting with formal accumulation. Furthermore, Jan Breman highlights how agrarian distress generates highly precarious “footloose labour”.
• Social Stratification: Barbara Harriss-White (India Working) argues informal markets are socially regulated by primary identities. The enduring caste-class nexus pushes Dalits into hazardous jobs, while the feminization of informal labor marginalizes women in invisible, home-based roles.

The gig economy’s “Uberization” has created a new class of vulnerable workers—what Guy Standing calls the “Precariat”. Their extreme precarity was exposed during the COVID-19 reverse migration, prompting state integration efforts like the e-Shram Portal.

Conclusion

The informal sector is a permanent social reality, not an economic waiting room. Sustainable urbanization requires extending robust social security and dismantling the socio-cultural hierarchies that regulate Indian labor.