Strengthening India’s Informal Sector: Implications for Economic Development - By Sharmila Senthil Kumar

Reforming the informal sector is the need of the hour. With increasing levels of unemployment in the sector, it is essential to re-employ workers. The government needs to take action to formalise the sector and to provide ample employment opportunities with proper job security and other social security benefits.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), about 2 billion workers, or 60 per cent of the world’s employed population aged 15 and older, spend at least part of their time in the informal sector. The size of the informal sector slowly decreases as economies develop, but with wide variations across regions ....