India isn’t shining as 79 percent of unorganized workers belong to the poor and vulnerable group

By Vipin Agnihotri

According to latest report of the Commission on the condition of unorganized sector workers in India, although the number of people below the poverty line has decreased in India, but around 79 percent of unorganized workers, 88 percent of SC/STs, 80 percent of the OBC population and 84 percent of Muslims still belong to the "poor and vulnerable group".

This is really distressing because despite high economic growth in last two or three years, condition of unorganized workers have remained poor and at a bare subsistence level without any social security. Most of the time, they are working in the most miserable, unhygienic and unlivable conditions. It is worth mentioning in this regard that the category "poor and vulnerable" depict all those who survive on Rs 20.30 per capita per day, which is twice the poverty line, or less. You may not believe at first but around 77 percent of India's population falls within this bracket.

It has come into the notice of The India Street that of this 77 percent around 6.4 percent people live on less than Rs 9 per day or three-fourths the poverty line level. On the other hand, another 15.4 percent who are between this layer and the poverty line, 19 percent who earn at best 1.25 times the poverty line and 36 percent who earn between 1.25 and two times the official cut-off for poverty.

If one analyse number of factors, which are responsible for this type of situation, you will find a close linkage with illiteracy. According to experts, the illiterate have a very high probability of being poor or vulnerable, almost nine out of ten, and they are predominantly unorganized workers.

The commission has also come to the conclusion that around 90% of the poor in India were casual workers while only 10 percent of the higher income groups were casual workers. Talking in terms of regular wage workers, 66.7 percent were in the poor and vulnerable groups, on the other hand 33% were from higher income group.

Even worse, it has come from the finding of commission that among the self-employed, 74.7 percent was from the poor and vulnerable whereas 25.3 percent came from the higher income group. The report pinpointed the fact that around 79 percent of unorganized casual non-agricultural women workers in the villages are illiterate.

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