UPSC Key: Agneepath Scheme, Direct Seeding of Rice and Informal Sector

Armed Forces seek larger retention of Agniveers after end of 4-yr tenure

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.

What’s the ongoing story: The Armed Forces are seeking an increase in the percentage of Agniveers who can be retained in the services after completing their four-year tenure, even as the overall percentage agreed upon remains 25 per cent for each of the three services at present.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is ‘Agneepath Scheme’?

• Who are ‘Agniveer’ under the Agneepath Scheme?

• What are the features of the Agnipath scheme?

• The military “needs a youthful profile”-What have you understood by this statement?

• Aim of Agneepath Scheme-Know in Detail

• How the Indian Armed forces are getting benefit from the Agneepath Scheme’?

• What will be advantages esp. for the Government with this new move?

• Agneepath Scheme may have certain drawbacks. What are they?

• Know the other countries recruitment model. How they are different from Agnipath/Agneepath Scheme?

• ‘Agnipath scheme is classic example of Political logic overriding institutional sanity’-Critically analyse this statement

• What do you understand by the term ‘Casualisation of government employment’?

Key Takeaways:

• Agniveers recruited under the Agnipath scheme began their training in early 2023. The initial batches of Agniveers will complete their four-year tenure with the services later this year.

• All of them would initially be released from the services, and the selected number of Agniveers who volunteer to
serve in the defence forces would be enrolled back as regular soldiers based on merit.

• It has been learnt that the Navy will likely seek a higher retention percentage of sailors who joined under the scheme at around 75 per cent, while the Army and the IAF might seek an increase to around 50 per cent from the current 25 per cent.

• The defence forces have maintained so far that the retention percentage remains at 25 per cent at present.

• The need for more retention has been felt keeping in view the requirement of a larger pool of trained and experienced soldiers, who have participated in multiple operations over the last four years and are experienced in handling new technologies and weapons. This is likely to be discussed further between the services and the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) to explore feasible options.

• According to sources, even if an increase in the retention percentages of Agniveers is not approved, certain specialised units might induct a higher percentage of soldiers from among the retained Agniveers, who are more experienced, while other units may take a larger number of soldiers from among the Agniveers who will still be serving their four-year tenure.

• For instance, the newly raised Bhairav battalions of the Army may eventually have a larger percentage of retained soldiers as compared to regular infantry battalions, which might have a larger percentage of Agniveers undergoing their four-year tenure.

Do You Know:

• The Agnipath scheme was introduced last year to take in recruits for the Army, Navy, and Indian Air Force (IAF) on four-year contracts, including six months of training.

• At the end of four years, up to 25% of recruits can apply to join the services on a regular basis, subject to merit and organisational requirements.

• The scheme was announced as the armed forces looked to restart the recruitment of soldiers, sailors, and airmen after the Covid-19 pandemic led to the suspension of recruitment for around two years. At present, all sailors, airmen, and soldiers, except the technical cadre of the medical branch, are recruited to the services under the scheme.

• The scheme had also opened doors for recruitment of women as Agniveers to the IAF and Navy. The Army started the process of recruiting women soldiers into its Corps of Military Police in 2019.

• The government had said the scheme aimed to ensure a “youthful profile” for the armed forces by bringing down the average age of serving soldiers.
It said the scheme would help transform the armed forces into a “tech-savvy and modern fighting force”, and would ensure the availability of disciplined and skilled youth from a range of backgrounds in civil society after their retirement at the end of four years.
However, a major consideration was understood to have been the burgeoning defence pension bills of the Government of India. Over the next couple of years, the scheme will bring down the overall defence pension bill.

• The remuneration of an Agniveer is Rs 30,000-Rs 40,000 per month, and they are entitled to risk and hardship allowances.
The scheme also has a Seva Nidhi contributory package, under which the Agniveers contribute 30% of their monthly emoluments, and the government contributes the same amount. On completion of four years, they will receive around Rs 11.71 lakh (with interest) from the package, and this will be exempt from income tax.

• In case of death on duty, they will receive more than Rs 1 crore, including the Seva Nidhi package and full pay for the period they could not serve.
In the instance of a disability, they can receive up to Rs 44 lakh depending on the extent of disability suffered, which is attributed to or aggravated by military service.

• The biggest difference between a soldier employed on regular service and an Agniveer serving for four years is that the former will draw a pension post-retirement, while an Agniveer will not. The 25% of Agniveers who would eventually be absorbed into the forces after four years will, however, be eligible for pension after retirement.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The benefits that Agniveers get, compared with those of regular soldiers

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
1) Department of Border Management is a Department of which one of the following Union Ministries? (UPSC CSE, 2008)
(a) Ministry of Defence
(b) Ministry of Home Affairs
(c) Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways
(d) Ministry of Environment and Forests

Direct-seeded rice gains traction among farmers amid El Nino shadow on monsoon

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country, different types of irrigation and irrigation systems storage.

What’s the ongoing story: For basmati paddy grower Satyavan Sehrawat, the two biggest challenges are water and labour. The traditional method of cultivating the cereal grain crop – by puddling (flooding the field and tilling repeatedly to break down soil clods, plug large pores and create a soft seedbed) and transplantation (of seedlings initially raised in nurseries) – is highly water-intensive.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is direct seeding of rice (DSR)?

• How direct seeding of rice works

• What kind of soil is required for successful DSR?

• What are the benefits of the DSR Technique?

• What are the challenges associated with DSR technique?

• How Innovative farming practices such as alternate wetting drying (AWD), direct seeded rice (DSR) could be game-changing technologies in reducing the crop’s carbon footprint?

Key Takeaways:

• “Puddling itself consumes water equivalent to three irrigations. For the first three weeks after transplanting, the field has to be irrigated every second day to maintain a standing water depth of 4-5 cm. You need to irrigate even thereafter once a week,” said the 56-year-old Sehrawat, who farms basmati on 50 out of his 54-acre holding in Delhi’s Daryapur Kalan village.

• Depending on the crop’s duration (115-120 days from seed to grain for Pusa Basmati-1509 and 140-145 days for Pusa Basmati-1121), and also how much it rains, the total irrigations can be anywhere between 20 and 30. Each irrigation uses over 200,000 litres of water per acre.

• Transplanting paddy seedlings in puddled fields requires labour, which is getting increasingly scarce. That’s where DSR or direct-seeded rice technology comes in. It dispenses with preparation of nurseries (where paddy seeds are sown and grown into young plantlets over 25-30 days) and uprooting of the seedlings for transplanting in the main field (ten times the nursery area). Nor is there need for puddling and flooding of fields.

Do You Know:

• In DSR, the paddy seeds are directly sown in the main field, just like wheat. In transplanted paddy fields, the standing water acts as a natural herbicide, depriving weeds of oxygen and sunlight for their seeds to germinate or already-emerged seedlings to survive. Continuous flooding is necessary to prevent weed growth, especially during the crop’s early stage.
DSR basically replaces water with chemical herbicides. It means growing paddy varieties or hybrids that can “tolerate” their application – in this case, of Imazethapyr, a herbicide that controls a wide spectrum of grassy and broadleaf weeds.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Knowledge Nugget: How direct seeded rice could be the future of rice farming

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
2) What is/are the advantage/advantages of zero tillage in agriculture? (UPSC CSE, 2020)
1. Sowing of wheat is possible without burning the residue of the previous crops.
2. Without the need for a nursery of rice saplings, direct planting of paddy seeds in the wet soil is possible.
3. Carbon sequestration in the soil is possible.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Politics

Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee: A life devoted to India’s unity and progress

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History of India and Indian National Movement.

Mains Examination: General Studies I: Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues and Post-independence consolidation and reorganization within the country.

What’s the ongoing story: Today, July 6, is a special day for countless people who cherish the ideals of nationalism and selfless service. We commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, whose life remains a timeless example of courage and unwavering commitment to Maa Bharti. Few leaders in modern India embodied the seamless confluence of intellect, public service and moral conviction as profoundly as Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Know about Syama Prasad Mookerjee

• The political significance of Syama Prasad Mookerjee in post-independence India-Know in detail

• How did the formation of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh reflect ideological diversification in Indian politics after independence?

• What is the relationship between the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and the present-day Bharatiya Janata Party?

• Why is Syama Prasad Mookerjee associated with the issue of Jammu & Kashmir’s constitutional integration?

• How Syama Prasad Mookerjee fought for J&K’s integration with India?

• Discuss the contribution of Syama Prasad Mookerjee to post-independence Indian politics.

Key Takeaways:

• The young Syama Prasad was born into circumstances that could easily have assured him a protected and comfortable life. His father, Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee, was among the foremost educationists and intellectuals of his age. Yet, while destiny placed before him a path of privilege, his conscience led him towards one of sacrifice and national service. He was convinced that he could not remain a mute spectator to the turbulence of his times – be it fighting colonialism, communalism, humanitarian challenges and more.

• Along this journey, he endured profound personal tragedies, including the loss of an infant child and, later, his wife. Yet, these tragedies only deepened his resolve and strengthened his unwavering commitment to serve.

• If there was one ideal that defined Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee’s public life above all else, it was the indivisibility of India. He stood firm during the upheaval of Partition to ensure that West Bengal remained an integral part of India. A few years later, that very conviction drew him to Jammu and Kashmir. Imprisonment did not deter him and isolation did not diminish him. His life came to an abrupt end in detention, far from the countless people whose cause he had made his own.

• There are moments in history when an individual’s final sacrifice transcends politics and enters the realm of national memory. Dr Mookerjee’s last journey remains one such moment. Acharya Vinoba Bhave said that Dr Mookerjee sacrificed himself for a cause in which he had faith. Years later, the revocation of Articles 370 and 35(A) in 2019 was the most fitting tribute to his martyrdom.

Do You Know:

• Born on July 6, 1901, Mookerjee — son of Ashutosh Mookerjee, Calcutta High Court judge and vice-chancellor of Calcutta University — studied at Presidency College, Calcutta, and Lincoln’s Inn. He became the youngest vice-chancellor of Calcutta University at just 33.

• He was elected to the Bengal Legislative Council in 1929 and 1930, first as a Congressman and then as an independent. From 1941 to 1942, he joined the Progressive Coalition government of Fazlul Haque as Finance Minister. The government was formed in opposition to the Muslim League. Mookerjee justified his decision by saying that the need of the hour was to organise Hindus and cooperate with Muslims who believed in working together.

• From 1943 to 1946, Mookerjee was the Hindu Mahasabha president. He took up the cause of Bengal’s Hindus in the run-up to Partition, opposing Muslim League leader and Bengal Prime Minister H S Suhrawardy’s “United Bengal” plan — which called for an independent state separate from India and Pakistan. Mookerjee saw this as an attempt to ensure domination of Hindus by a Muslim majority. He called for the partition of Bengal, with Hindu-majority West Bengal staying with India.

• After the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, Mookerjee made the Hindu Mahasabha’s Working Committee adopt resolutions that “expressed shame that Gandhi’s assassin had been connected with the organisation, and declared support for the government in its efforts to suppress terrorism or subversive activities in any shape or form”, writes BD Graham in Hindu Nationalism and Indian Politics (2007).
In November 1948, Mookerjee resigned from the Hindu Mahasabha after it rejected his suggestion to broaden its
membership if it wanted to be a modern political party.

• On June 26, 1952, Mookerjee pressed the Centre to convince Jammu and Kashmir to accept full integration with India. The Jana Sangh and Praja Parishad widely adopted a slogan – “ek desh mein do vidhan, do pradhan aur do nishan nahin ho sakte (in one nation, there cannot be two constitutions, two Prime Ministers and two flags).”

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The forgotten architect: Syama Prasad Mookerjee and the BJP’s origins

The Ideas Page

Rice-to-ethanol policy is deepening economic and environmental stress

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialisation.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

What’s the ongoing story: Ashok Gulati, Ritika Juneja, Purvi Thangaraj Writes-The ethanol blending programme is not a bad idea, in itself — it involves at least 20 per cent blending. However, mandating that ethanol producers source a fixed share of feedstock from FCI rice is counterproductive

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is Rice-to-ethanol policy?

• What is the new ethanol policy in India?

• What is the Supreme Court decision on ethanol?

• Why is India promoting ethanol?

• What is Ethanol?

• What is Ethanol Blending?

• What is the Significance of Ethanol Blending?

• What is the current blending status?

• What are the environmental benefits of ethanol as a biofuel?

Key Takeaways:
Ashok Gulati, Ritika Juneja, Purvi Thangaraj Writes-

• India produced 154 million metric tonnes (MMT) of rice in 2025-26, surpassing China to become the world’s largest producer. India is also the top rice exporter, with exports of 24.5 MMT in 2025. This accounts for roughly 40 per cent of the global rice trade (61.3 MMT), exceeding the total exported by the next four largest exporters — Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan and Cambodia.

• India also gives free food (Rs 5kg/person/month) to about 800 million people under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), of which almost two-thirds is rice. Even after this, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) held rice stocks of almost five times the buffer norm as of April 1. In 2024-25 (FY25), the carrying cost of this extra buffer stock was Rs 10,712 crore. The government has decided to divert significant quantities of broken/damaged rice to ethanol production to reduce these stocks and cut down carrying costs.

• In FY26, almost 5 MMT of rice has been used to produce ethanol. The economic cost of rice to FCI in FY27 is likely to be Rs 44/kg, while it is being given to ethanol plants at roughly Rs 23/kg, renewing the food-vs-fuel debate and raising questions about who is subsidising whom.

Do You Know:
Ashok Gulati, Ritika Juneja, Purvi Thangaraj Writes-

• India can rationalise rice policies for a financially and environmentally sustainable future. Three interlocking policies seem to be responsible for this situation.
—First, the open-ended procurement at the minimum support price (MSP). Although the MSP for paddy is Rs 2,369/quintal (2025-26), states often outbid each other. Chhattisgarh pays about 40 per cent above MSP, Telangana about 20 per cent, while others, such as Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab and Haryana, have their own variants of this competitive largesse either in the form of input subsidy or bonus on top of MSP.
—Second, free or near-free power across the rice belt. Since rice is a flood-irrigated crop that demands up to 25 irrigations per season, free power is effectively a licence to mine groundwater without consequence.
—Third, urea is sold at a price that bears no relation to its cost. The retail price of urea has been frozen at Rs 242 per 45-kg bag for years, with the government absorbing 85-90 per cent of the economic cost. India’s own landed import price for urea had spiked to $935-$959/tonne in May — thanks to a modicum of cooling in the Strait of Hormuz conflict, the price now has dropped to a little less than half this amount.

• The ethanol blending programme is not a bad idea, in itself — it involves at least 20 per cent blending. However, mandating that ethanol producers source a fixed share of feedstock from FCI rice is counterproductive. This is like going back to Soviet-era controls. Bureaucracy and politicians love controls as they benefit from rent-seeking. Industry wants freedom to choose the most efficient feedstock — whether maize, sugarcane, or rice — which government policies don’t permit. So, the two strike a deal — rice, whose economic cost to FCI is Rs 44/kg, is sold to ethanol plants at Rs 23/kg on the justification that it is broken and damaged.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Food vs fuel: case of sugar

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
3) According to India’s National Policy on Biofuels, which of the following can be used as raw materials for the production of biofuels? (UPSC CSE, 2020)
1. Cassava
2. Damaged wheat grains
3. Groundnut seeds
4. Horse gram
5. Rotten potatoes
6. Sugar beet
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1, 2, 5 and 6 only
(b) 1, 3, 4 and 6 only
(c) 2, 3, 4 and 5 only
(d) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6

Explained

AI is reshaping warfare: How India can keep pace

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Security challenges

What’s the ongoing story: The trinity of artificial intelligence (AI), military autonomy and algorithmic warfare is redefining modern-day warfighting and deterrence. The workflows of combat are being infused with AI and driven by autonomy, but what is making them unfailingly lethal is algorithmic precision. Indeed, these three factors are poised to exponentially increase battlefield lethality over the next few years.

Key Points to Ponder:

• How Artificial Intelligence is reshaping the character of warfare in the twenty-first century?

• What are the opportunities and challenges associated with AI-enabled defence technologies for India?

• What is the role of AI in strengthening India’s military preparedness?

• What are the ethical concerns surrounding autonomous weapon systems?

• Know India’s preparedness for AI-driven warfare.

• Examine the role of AI in maintaining strategic deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.

• How drones are proving to be the greatest techno-military revolution since gunpowder and nuclear weapons?

• What India can do?

• What is India’s anti-drone system?

• Why there is need for procurement of anti-drone systems?

• What lessons India has drawn from the month-old war?

• What are passive defense measures?

• What is a swarm drone?

• Where does India stand in drone warfare?

Key Takeaways:

• The strategic-military establishment in India would do well to take note of this ‘Manhattan Project’ moment in combat — the deployment of software at unprecedented speed and scale.

• Drones are the greatest techno-military revolution since gunpowder and nuclear weapons. Their integration with AI and associated technologies has given birth to the art and science of drone warfare as warcraft, even statecraft.

• Their impact has been particularly visible in the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine, for instance, uses an AI-enabled data analytics platform called Delta that fuses multiple data inputs (from radar imagery to social media feeds) into one intelligent stream. Delta then plugs into a versatile inventory of drones to form a digital ‘kill web’ that compresses engagement times (detection to neutralisation) to a couple of minutes.

• A 35-km corridor along the Russia-Ukraine frontier is nicknamed the “death zone”. In this area, artillery has been pushed back and outranged, tanks don’t move, and infantry soldiers are picked up by surveillance drones and neutralised by FPV (first-person view) drones in a matter of minutes. Unmanned platforms are taking over functions once performed by humans. This ranges from acquiring information and fixing targets to resupplying ammunition and rations, and evacuating casualties. This year, Ukraine is buying eight million drones, more than the artillery it fired last year. These platforms provide commanders options ranging from close air support (25 km) to strategic air power (2,500 km).

• In Venezuela, the US used Anthropic’s Claude in the operation to capture ousted president Nicolas Maduro. AI platforms gave the US top brass insights into Maduro’s movements and helped them anticipate what he would do. Electronic attacks and cyber exploits were then synchronised with the Delta Force’s heliborne assault to telling effect.

• In Iran, we saw the development of targeting packages at machine (not human) speeds, enabling precise strikes that wiped out almost the entire Iranian leadership in minutes on the morning of February 28.

• Military autonomy is making giant strides. Drone warfare is moving from remote to algorithmic control. The captains of naval platforms are increasingly going to be autonomous software systems, not humans. In the aerial domain, the development of the YFQ-44A Fury, an AI-powered autonomous fighter jet, by the defence tech startup Anduril, tells us that the future of airpower will be collaborative. This also shows that the business model is moving steadily from traditional defence primes to agile startups.

• Lethal technologies are seeing an unprecedented boom. Mythos is a virtual cyber-nuke that can disable any adversary operating system. DeepSeek and Tau’s Law of Scaling (Huawei professing to achieve 1.4 nanometre transistor density by 2031 to challenge the Nvidia Blackwell chips which are in the range of 4 nanometres) are symbols of how Chinese digital innovations are turbo-charging strategic-military competition.

Do You Know:

• The future of defence is also sovereignty. Beginning now, we can embrace the trinity of AI, autonomy and algorithmic warfare through these sovereign pathways:
—Urgently develop an AI-enabled data analytics platform, in the manner of Delta.
—Create software that can autonomously coordinate drones swarms; identify objects of interest; differentiate between birds, civilian aircraft and combat platforms; and direct shooters to destroy targets.
—Set up a diverse inventory of drones, with a target of five million by 2028.
—Deploy an array of counter-drone systems (such as laser and microwave weapons) with drone-hunting teams. This will help to establish drone-driven, AI-enabled “kill webs” along the LoC and LAC.
—Crowd the LEO (low-Earth orbit) space so that we transit from persistent surveillance to offensive ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance).
—The 2027 defence budget must reflect the transition. At least 40% of the Rs 2 lakh-odd crore earmarked for modernisation should be spent on technological solutions.
This is a huge challenge that will require a cultural and structural transformation. Successful adoption, however, will be game changing. It will expand options in crisis situations while enabling India to attain “combat overmatch” with Pakistan and “asymmetric deterrence” with China.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Drone warfare came home during Op Sindoor. Where does India stand?

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
4) Consider the following activities: (UPSC CSE, 2020)
1. Spraying pesticides on a crop field
2. Inspecting the craters of active volcanoes
3. Collecting breath samples from spouting whales for DNA analysis
At the present level of technology, which of the above activities can be successfully carried out by using drones?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme:
📍The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by our adversaries across the borders to ferry arms/ammunitions, drugs, etc., is a serious threat to the internal security. Comment on the measures being taken to tackle this threat. (2023)

Economy

2 cr informal workers in India’s big cities; Hyd tops with 15.7 lakh

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social development.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

What’s the ongoing story: Informal businesses are widely thought to operate largely in the rural heartland of the country. However, a new government report has shed light on the size of the informal sector in India’s urban centres, estimating that the country’s 46 most populous cities have 1.98 crore people working in 1 crore informal establishments.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the informal sector?

• What is the difference between the formal and informal sectors?

• What are the structural constraints of India’s unincorporated sector and their implications for employment quality and productivity?

• How declining indebtedness in the informal sector does not necessarily indicate economic strength.

• Know the contribution of informal workers to India’s urban economy.

• What are the major challenges faced by informal workers in Indian cities.

Key Takeaways:

• Greater Hyderabad tops the list of cities with the highest number of informal workers at 15.7 lakh, with Kolkata home to the greatest number of informal establishments — 8.84 lakh.

• As per the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s (MoSPI) report on urban unincorporated enterprises in cities whose population exceeded 1 million (10 lakh) as per Census 2011, six had more than a million informal workers: Greater Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, Surat, Greater Mumbai, and Jaipur.

• Together, these six cities account for 40% of all informal workers in the country’s 46 cities with more than a million people each. The number of unincorporated establishments in these six cities is estimated to be nearly 39 lakh, or around 39% of the total in the 46 cities.

Do You Know:

• The total number of informal workers in India in 2025 was 12.81 crore.

• Of the 1.98 crore informal workers in these 46 cities, roughly 26% — or 52 lakh — were women. Greater Visakhapatnam had the highest percentage of female workers at 42.5%, with Surat close behind at 41.4%. Srinagar was last at 10.5%, just below Varanasi at 12.1%. The report on the unincorporated enterprises in million-plus cities is the second such report released by MoSPI on India’s biggest cities. The first was on their labour market dynamics, based on the results of the Periodic Labour Force Survey for 2025.

• The city-level estimates are generated from MoSPI’s Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) for 2025, which covers India’s unincorporated, non-agricultural enterprises, excluding construction. These enterprises make up a sizable portion of the economy and include the likes of small manufacturers, service providers, and trading units.

• The 46 million-plus cities account for about 13% of establishments, 16% of workers, and 21% of Gross Value Added (GVA) of the unincorporated non-agricultural sector as per the ASUSE 2025 survey. These 46 cities are from 17 states and Union Territories: 10 from Maharashtra, seven from Uttar Pradesh, four each from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, three each from Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan, two each from Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, and West Bengal, and one apiece from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, and Telangana.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Why India’s informal workforce is trapped between survival and stagnation

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
5) With reference to casual workers employed in India, consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2021)
1. All casual workers are entitled for Employees Provident Fund coverage.
2. All casual workers are entitled for regular working hours and overtime payment.
3. The government can by a notification specify that an establishment or industry shall pay wages only through its bank account.
Which of the above statements are correct?
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Previous year UPSC Mains Question Covering similar theme:
📍How globalization has led to the reduction of employment in the formal sector of the Indian economy? Is increased informalization detrimental to the development of the country? (2016)

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1.(b)  2.(d)  3.(a) 4.(d) 5.(b)

  

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