Question 1 · 10 marks · 162 words written
Opening · a restatement
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) carries out market survey of the Indian economy to bring out key data on unemployment rate in India.
The recent change was made to give monthly data on the unemployment rate in India since April 2025.
Body · points
Significance of the changes.
It helps bring more frequent and current data. Eg: 5.1% unemployment in urban areas in April 2025.
It reduces the consideration period for analysing the period for which a person was employed.
Enhances the quality of governance through better contextual insights.
Ensures effective structural changes to reduce underemployment.
Timely implementation of schemes such as Employment-linked incentives.
Shift from "usual status" which used to ask for previous 182 days. -> This ensures better recall of employment duration.
Challenges -> 90% workers in the unorganised sector -> underreporting of data -> Poor adoption of technology
Close · a way forward
There is a need to push labour-oriented industries reform for better employment elasticity in economy.