- Why in news
- On 15 October 2026, PIB published a backgrounder on women's work. It reports female LFPR (PLFS) rising from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 40% in 2025, and lists support for women's enterprise and jobs.
- What it is
- The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) is India's official household survey of employment and unemployment, run by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation through NSO. Female LFPR and WPR from it are the standard measures of women's work. LFPR counts people working or seeking or available for work; WPR counts only the employed.
- Female LFPR trend
- Female LFPR (age 15+) rose from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 40.0% in 2025.
- Female WPR trend
- Women's Worker Population Ratio rose from 22.0% to 38.8% over the same period.
- LFPR definition
- LFPR is the share of the population that is working, seeking work or available for work. WPR counts only the employed.
- Who runs PLFS
- PLFS is conducted by the National Statistical Office under MoSPI.
- Labour Codes
- In November 2025, 29 labour laws were consolidated into four Labour Codes, with provisions on maternity leave, creches and night work with consent.
Don’t confuse with LFPR vs WPR: LFPR includes those seeking or available for work; WPR includes only those employed. So LFPR is always at least as high as WPR.
Reports and indices: 14 Prelims questions since 2013; they test who publishes a report and what it measures.
Why it matters
- Higher female participation can raise household income and growth, and reflects the shift from agriculture-linked unpaid work to wider employment.
Problems
- Participation gains may reflect self-employment and unpaid family work, so job quality, pay and security remain concerns.
- Women still face safety, care-burden and access-to-credit barriers.
Way forward
- Pair participation gains with formal jobs, skilling, childcare and safe workplaces, and track quality indicators such as earnings and social security.
Put in your answer
Public procurement from women MSEs: Procurement from women-owned MSEs was 3.8% in FY 2025-26, above the 3% target.
- 2023Mains GS3 · Q11Examine unemployment computation methodology in India and suggest improvements.
- 2021Mains GS1 · Q10Examine the role of gig economy in women's empowerment in India.
- 2014Mains GS1 · Q11How patriarchy affects the position of middle class working women in India.
- 2017Prelims Q7Which principle the 42nd Amendment added to Directive Principles: equal pay.
- 2020Prelims Q58Post-1991 trends in workforce share and rural employment growth statements.
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: Lasting topic with data, but routine labour data rarely reaches Prelims; reports are only 4% of 327 news-linked Prelims questions.
Worth revising until Prelims 2028: most news questions come within two years of the event.