Major Concepts and Definitions: NSS 61st Round

1.7.0 Important concepts and definitions used in different schedules of this survey are
explained below.
1.7.1 House: Every structure, tent, shelter, etc. is a house irrespective of its use. It may be
used for residential or non-residential purpose or both or even may be vacant.
1.7.2 Household: A group of persons normally living together and taking food from a
common kitchen will constitute a household. The members of a household may or may
not be related by blood or marriage to one another. The following cases are to be noted
while determining the group of persons to be considered as households for the current
survey:
(i) Each inmate (including residential staff) of a hostel, mess, hotel, boarding and lodging
house, etc., will constitute a single member household. If, however, a group of persons
among them normally pool their income for spending, they together will be treated as
forming a single household. For example, a family living in a hotel will be treated as a
separate single household by itself.
(ii) Under-trial prisoners in jails and indoor patients of hospitals, nursing homes etc., are
to be excluded, but residential staff therein will be listed while listing is done in such
institutions. The persons of the first category will be considered as normal members of
their parent households and will be counted there. Convicted prisoners undergoing
sentence will be outside the coverage of the survey.
(iii) Floating population, i.e., persons without any normal residence will not be listed. But
households residing in open space, roadside shelter, under a bridge etc. more or less
regularly in the same place will be listed.
(iv) Foreign nationals will not be listed, nor their domestic servants, if by definition the
latter belong to the foreign national's household. If, however, a foreign national becomes
an Indian citizen for all practical purposes, he/she will be covered.
(v) Persons residing in barracks of military and paramilitary forces (like police, BSF etc.)
will be kept outside the survey coverage for difficulty in conduct of survey therein.
However, civilian population residing in their neighbourhood, including the family
quarters of service personnel are to be covered, for which, of course, permission may
have to be obtained from appropriate authorities.
(vi) Orphanages, rescue homes, ashrams and vagrant houses are outside the survey
coverage. However, the persons staying in old age homes, the students staying in
ashram/hostels and the residential staff (other than monks/nuns) of these ashrams may be
listed. For orphanages, although orphans are not to be listed, the persons looking after
them and staying there may be considered for listing.

1.7.3 Household size: The number of normally resident members of a household is its
size. It will include temporary stay-aways (those whose total period of absence from the
household is expected to be less than 6 months) but exclude temporary visitors and guests
(expected total period of stay less than 6 months). Even though the determination of the
actual composition of a household will be left to the judgment of the head of the
household, the following procedures will be adopted as guidelines:
(i) In deciding the composition of a household, more emphasis is to be placed on
'normally living together' than on 'ordinarily taking food from a common kitchen'. In case
the place of residence of a person is different from the place of boarding, he or she will
be treated as a member of the household with whom he or she resides.
(ii) A resident employee, or domestic servant, or a paying guest (but not just a tenant in
the household) will be considered as a member of the household with whom he or she
resides even though he or she is not a member of the same family.
(iii) When a person sleeps in one place (say, in a shop or in a room in another house
because of space shortage) but usually takes food with his or her family, he or she should
be treated not as a single member household but as a member of the household in which
other members of his or her family stay.
(iv) If a member of a household (say, a son or a daughter of the head of the household)
stays elsewhere (say, in hostel for studies or for any other reason), he/she will not be
considered as a member of his/her parent's household. However, he/she will be listed as a
single member household if the hostel is listed.
1.7.4 Pucca structure: A pucca structure is one whose walls and roofs are made of pucca
materials such as cement, concrete, oven burnt bricks, hollow cement / ash bricks, stone,
stone blocks, jack boards (cement plastered reeds), iron, zinc or other metal sheets,
timber, tiles, slate, corrugated iron, asbestos cement sheet, veneer, plywood, artificial
wood of synthetic material and poly vinyl chloride (PVC) material.
1.7.5 Katcha structure: A structure which has walls and roof made of non-pucca
materials is regarded as a katcha structure. Non-pucca materials include unburnt bricks,
bamboo, mud, grass, leaves, reeds, thatch, etc. Katcha structures can be of the following
two types:
(a) Unserviceable katcha structure includes all structures with thatch walls and
thatch roof i.e. walls made of grass, leaves, reeds, etc. and roof of a similar material
and
(b) Serviceable katcha structure includes all katcha structures other than
unserviceable katcha structures.

1.7.6 Semi-pucca structure: A structure which cannot be classified as a pucca or a

katcha structure as per definition is a semi-pucca structure. Such a structure will have
either the walls or the roof but not both, made of pucca materials.
1.7.7 Dwelling unit: It is the accommodation availed of by a household for its residential
purpose. It may be an entire structure or a part thereof or consisting of more than one
structure. There may be cases of more than one household occupying a single structure
such as those living in independent flats or sharing a single housing unit, in which case,
there will be as many dwelling units as the number of households sharing the structure.
There may also be cases of one household occupying more than one structure (i.e.
detached structures for sitting, sleeping, cooking, bathing etc) for its housing
accommodation. In this case, all the structures together constitute a single dwelling unit.
In general, a dwelling unit consists of living room, kitchen, store, bath, latrine, garage,
open and closed veranda etc. A structure or a portion thereof used exclusively for nonresidential purposes or let out to other households does not form part of the dwelling unit
of the household under consideration. However, a portion of a structure used for both
residential and non-residential purposes is treated as part of the dwelling unit except
when the use of such portion for residential purpose is very nominal. The dwelling unit
covers all pucca, semi-pucca and katcha structures used by a household. Households
living more or less regularly under bridges, in pipes, under staircase, in purely temporary
flimsy improvisations built by the road side (which are liable to be removed at any
moment) etc., are considered to have no dwelling.
1.7.8 Independent house: An independent house is one which has a separate structure
and entrance with self-contained arrangements. In other words, if the dwelling unit and
the entire structure of the house are physically the same, it should be considered as an
independent house. In some parts, particularly in rural areas, two or more structures
together may constitute a single housing unit. While the main residence may be in one of
the structures, the other structures may be used for sleeping, sitting and for store, bath etc.
In all such cases, all the structures together will form a single housing unit and will be
treated as an independent house.
1.7.9 Flat: A flat, generally, is a part of the building and has one or more rooms with
self-contained arrangements and normal housing facilities like water supply, latrine,
toilet, etc., which are used exclusively by the household residing therein or jointly with
other households. It also includes detached room or rooms with or without other housing
facilities.
1.7.10 Land possessed: The area of land possessed will include land owned, leased in
and land neither owned nor leased in (i.e. encroached) by the household but exclude
land 'leased out'. The total land area possessed by the household as on the date of survey
is taken into account. A piece of land is considered to be owned by the household if
permanent heritable possession with or without the right to transfer the title vests in a
member or members of the household. Land held in owner-like possession say, under
perpetual lease, hereditary tenure, long-term lease for 30 years or more, etc., will also be
considered as land owned. For a piece of land under the possession of the household, if

the household lacks title of ownership and also does not have lease agreement for the use
of land transacted, either verbally or in writing, such land will be considered as neither
owned nor leased in. In collecting information regarding land possessed, the actual
position as obtained on the date of survey will be considered. It may be noted that the
area of land possessed to be recorded should not include the area of land owned, leasedin, etc. by the servants/paying guests who are considered as normal members of the
household.
1.7.11 Household monthly per capita expenditure: Household consumer expenditure is
measured as the expenditure incurred by a household on domestic account during a
specified period, called reference period. It also includes the imputed values of goods and
services, which are not purchased but procured otherwise for consumption. In other
words, it is the sum total of monetary values of all the items (i.e. goods and services)
consumed by the household on domestic account during the reference period. The
imputed rent of owner-occupied houses is excluded from consumption expenditure. Any
expenditure incurred towards the productive enterprises of the households is also
excluded from the household consumer expenditure. Monthly per capita expenditure
(MPCE) is the household consumer expenditure over a period of 30 days divided by
household size. A persons MPCE is understood as that of the household to which he/she
belongs.
1.7.12 Meal: A meal is composed of one or more readily eatable (generally cooked)
items of food, the usually major constituent of which is cereals. The meals consumed by
a person twice or thrice a day provide him/her the required energy (calorie) and other
nutrients for living and for pursuing his/her normal avocations. A meal, as opposed to
snacks, nashta or high tea, contains larger quantum and variety of food. In rare
cases, a full meal may contain larger quantity of non-cereal food. Even then, if the
quantum of food in a plate is heavy as a meal, the contents of the food plate will also be
considered as a meal. Sometimes the contents of a nashta may not be very different
from the contents of a meal. The difference in quantity will therefore be the guiding
factor for deciding whether the plate is to be labelled as a meal or a nashta.
A person rendering domestic service (like cleaning utensils, dusting and cleaning of
rooms, washing linen, carrying water from outside, etc.) to a number of households
during the daytime gets some food from each of the households he/she serves. Although
the quantum of food received from a single household may, by quantity, be far less than a
full meal, the total quantity of food received from all the households taken together would
often, if not more, be at least equivalent to a full meal. In this particular situation, the
person will be considered to be consuming one meal every day under meal taken away
from home.
Subject to the guidelines given in the two preceding paragraphs, for the purpose of data
collection on number of meals consumed one has to depend on the judgement of the
informant because, the informant would reckon the number on the basis of his/her own
understanding of the concept of a meal/khana.

1.7.13 P.D.S.: This stands for Public Distribution System, which means the distribution
of some essential commodities by the government at subsidised rates through ration
shops, fair price shops and control shops. These shops may be owned by the government,
local government, a government undertaking, the proprietor of a firm, co-operatives or
private persons (individually or jointly) or other bodies like club, trust, etc. The
following points may be noted while classifying a purchase as PDS or otherwise.

"Super Bazaars" and co-operative stores will not generally be included under
public distribution system. However, when these also sell rationed commodities at
controlled prices against ration cards, they will be taken as ration shops for
particular commodities.
For kerosene, "PDS" will also include kerosene depots selling kerosene at
controlled prices.
Distribution of some controlled price commodities such as kerosene may in some
areas be made without a system of presentation of ration card. Except in such
situations, a purchase which is not made against a ration card will not qualify as a
PDS purchase.
A purchase will be considered as PDS irrespective of whether the household
uses its own ration card or that of some other household.
Purchase from PDS shops at prices higher than the PDS prices will also be
considered as purchase from PDS as long as the price paid is perceptibly lower
than the market price. (This is a departure from the practice followed in earlier
rounds.)

1.7.14 Antodaya: Under this scheme, the 1 crore poorest families among the BPL
families covered under the Targeted Public Distribution System are identified and 25 kg
of foodgrain are made available to each eligible family at a highly subsidized rate of Rs. 2
per kg for wheat and Rs. 3 per kg for rice.
1.7.15 Food for Work: The Food for Work Programme was started in January 2000-01
as part of the Employment Assurance Scheme (EAS) in eight drought-affected States,
viz., Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa,
Rajasthan, and Uttaranchal. The Food for Work Programme (FWP) was later expanded to
form a part of any wage employment scheme of the Central or State Governments being
implemented in the notified districts during periods of natural calamities, such as drought,
flood, cyclone or earthquake. The Government of India makes available an appropriate
quantity of foodgrains to each of the affected States. Foodgrains are supplied to the States
as an additional aid free of cost. The cost is borne by the Government of India with a
view to enabling the State Governments to provide adequate wage employment
opportunities to the needy rural poor. The eligibility criteria for employment are relaxed
so as to include both BPL and APL (Above Poverty Line) families. The States may make
payment of wages partly in kind (up to 5 kg of foodgrains per man-day) and partly in
cash. The State Governments are free to calculate the cost of foodgrains paid in wages, at
either BPL rates, or APL rates, or any rate
between these two rates. The workers are paid the balance wages in cash, so that they are
assured of the notified minimum wages. Supply of foodgrains is made to the workmen
preferably at the worksite. It is stipulated that the payment of wages, cash as well as

foodgrains, must be made weekly. Since the Food for Work Programme is meant for
providing wage employment in the natural-calamity-affected States, preference is given
to labour-intensive works, particularly those which would help in drought-proofing such
as moisture conservation works, watershed development works, water harvesting, digging
up and de-silting of village ponds/tanks and water courses, construction of rural link
roads (katcha roads), etc. As far as possible, the works to be taken up are intended to
result in durable assets.
1.7.16 Annapoorna: The Annapoorna Scheme was launched with effect from 1st April
2000. It aims at providing food security to meet the requirement of those senior citizens
who, though eligible, have remained uncovered under the National Old Age Pension
Scheme (NOAPS). The scheme is targeted to cover 20% (13.762 lakh) of persons eligible
to receive pension under NOAPS. The Central assistance under the Annapoorna Scheme
is, thus, provided to the beneficiaries on fulfilling the following criteria:
The age of the applicant (male or female) should be 65 years or above.
The applicant must be a destitute in the sense of having little or no
regular means of subsistence from his/her own sources of income or
through financial support from family members or other sources. In order
to determine destitution, the criteria, if any, in force in the States/UTs are
to be followed.
The applicant should not be in receipt of pension under the NOAPS or
State Pension Scheme.
The beneficiaries are given 10 kg of foodgrains per month free of cost.
1.7.17 Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme: The Integrated Child
Development Services (ICDS) Scheme, launched in 1975, is a nationwide programme for
the overall development of children below 6 years and of the expectant and nursing
mothers. Thus, the scheme aims at improving the nutritional and health status of
vulnerable groups including pre-school children, pregnant women and nursing mothers
through providing a package of services including supplementary nutrition, pre-school
education, immunization, health check-up, referral services and nutrition and health
education. In addition, the Scheme envisages effective convergence of inter-sectoral
services in the anganwadi centres. The Scheme targets the most vulnerable groups of
population including children up to 6 years of age, pregnant women and nursing mothers
belonging to the poorest of the poor families and living in disadvantaged areas, including
backward rural areas, tribal areas and urban slums. The identification of beneficiaries is
done through surveying the community and identifying the families living below the
poverty line.
The objectives of the scheme are:

to improve the nutritional and health status of pre-school children in the agegroup of 0-6 years;

to lay the foundation of proper psychological development of the child;

to reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school dropouts;

to achieve effective coordination of policy and implementation amongst the

various departments to promote child development; and

to enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal health and
nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition and health education.

1.7.18 Midday Meal: A large number children between the ages of 5 and 14 are victims
of malnutrition, associated with food shortages, population expansion, lack of suitable
food substitutes, poverty, ignorance, traditional beliefs and customs. The midday meal
scheme was launched to lower the widespread incidence of malnutrition, primarily
among children of poor families, and to increase their access to education. The scheme
was aimed at boosting primary school attendance, by allowing children of parents living
below subsistence levels to attain basic literacy levels instead of being pushed into the
workforce at an early age.
1.7.19 Economic activity: The entire spectrum of human activity falls into two
categories: economic activity and non-economic activity. Any activity that results in
production of goods and services that adds value to national product is considered as an
economic activity. The economic activities have two parts - market activities and nonmarket activities. Market activities are those that involve remuneration to those who
perform it i.e., activity performed for pay or profit. Such activities include production of
all goods and services for market including those of government services, etc. Nonmarket activities are those involving the production of primary commodities for own
consumption and own account production of fixed assets.
The full spectrum of economic activities as defined in the UN System of National
Accounts is not covered in the definition adopted for the Employment and
Unemployment surveys of NSSO. Production of any good for own consumption is
considered as economic activity by UN System of National Accounts but production of
only primary goods for own consumption is considered as economic activity by NSSO.
While the former includes activities like own account processing of primary products
among other things, in the NSS surveys, processing of primary products for own
consumption is not considered as economic activity.
The term economic activity in the Employment and Unemployment survey of
NSSO in the 61st round will include:
(i) all the market activities described above, i.e., the activities performed for pay or
profit which result in production of goods and services for exchange,
(ii) of the non-market activities,
(a) all the activities relating to the primary sector (i.e. industry Divisions 01 to 14
of NIC-98) which result in production (including free collection of uncultivated
crops, forestry, firewood, hunting, fishing, mining, quarrying, etc.) of primary
goods for own consumption

and
(b) the activities relating to the own-account production of fixed assets. Own
account production of fixed assets include construction of own houses, roads,
wells, etc., and of machinery, tools, etc., for household enterprise and also
construction of any private or community facilities free of charge. A person may
be engaged in own account construction in the capacity of either a labour or a
supervisor.
It is to be noted that as in earlier rounds, the activities like prostitution, begging,
etc., which may result in earnings, by convention, will not be considered as economic
activities. In earlier rounds, activities under smuggling were kept outside the economic
activity. In assigning the activity status of an individual in the field, probing is perhaps
not extended to ascertain whether the production of goods and services is carried out in
the form of smuggling. Thus in practice, production of goods and services in the form of
smuggling have actually been considered as economic activity in NSS surveys. In view of
this, activity status of a person may be judged irrespective of the situation whether such
activity is carried out illegally in the form of smuggling or not.
1.7.20 Activity status: It is the activity situation in which a person is found during a
reference period, which concerns with the person's participation in economic and noneconomic activities. According to this, a person will be in one or a combination of the
following three status during a reference period:
(i) Working or being engaged in economic activity (work),
(ii) Being not engaged in economic activity (work) and either making tangible efforts
to seek 'work' or being available for 'work' if the 'work' is available and
(iii) Being not engaged in any economic activity (work) and also not available for
'work'.
Activity statuses, as mentioned in (i) & (ii) above, are associated with 'being in
labour force' and the last with 'not being in the labour force'. Within the labour force,
activity status (i) is associated with 'employment' and that of (ii) with unemployment.
The three broad activity statuses have been further sub-divided into several detailed
activity categories. These are stated below:
(i) working or being engaged in economic activity (employed):
(a) worked in household enterprise (self-employed) as an own-account worker
(b) worked in household enterprise (self-employed) as an employer
(c) worked in household enterprise (self-employed) as 'helper'
(d) worked as regular salaried/wage employee
(e) worked as casual wage labour in public works
(f) worked as casual wage labour in other types of works
(g) did not work due to sickness though there was work in household enterprise
(h) did not work due to other reasons though there was work in household enterprise

(i) did not work due to sickness but had regular salaried/ wage employment
(j) did not work due to other reasons but had regular salaried/wage employment
(ii) not working but seeking or available for work (unemployed) :
(a) sought work
(b) did not seek but was available for work
(iii) not working and also not available for work (not in labour force) :
(a) attended educational institution
(b) attended domestic duties only
(c) attended domestic duties and was also engaged in free collection of goods,
tailoring, weaving, etc. for household use
(d) recipients of rent, pension, remittance, etc.
(e) not able to work due to disability
(f) prostitutes
(g) others
(h) did not work due to sickness (for casual workers only).
1.7.21 The various constituents of workers, unemployed, labour force, out of labour
force are as explained below:
(a) Workers (or employed): Persons who are engaged in any economic activity or who,
despite their attachment to economic activity, have abstained from work for reasons of
illness, injury or other physical disability, bad weather, festivals, social or religious
functions or other contingencies necessitating temporary absence from work constitute
workers. Unpaid helpers who assist in the operation of an economic activity in the
household farm or non-farm activities are also considered as workers. All the workers are
assigned one of the detailed activity status under the broad activity category 'working or
being engaged in economic activity'.
(b) Seeking or available for work (or unemployed): Persons, who owing to lack of
work, had not worked but either sought work through employment exchanges,
intermediaries, friends or relatives or by making applications to prospective employers or
expressed their willingness or availability for work under the prevailing condition of
work and remuneration are considered as those who are seeking or available for work
(or unemployed).
(c) Labour force: Persons who are either 'working' (or employed) or 'seeking or
available for work' (or unemployed) during the reference period together constitute the
labour force.
(d) Out of labour force: Persons who are neither 'working' and at the same time nor
'seeking or available for work' for various reasons during the reference period are
considered to be 'out of labour force'. The persons under this category are students, those
engaged in domestic duties, rentiers, pensioners, recipients of remittances, those living on

alms, infirm or disabled persons, too young or too old persons, prostitutes, etc. and casual
labourers not working due to sickness.
1.7.22 It may be noted that workers have been further categorized as self-employed,
regular salaried/wage employee and casual wage labour. These categories are defined
in the following paragraphs.
1.7.23 Self-employed: Persons who operate their own farm or non-farm enterprises or
are engaged independently in a profession or trade on own-account or with one or a few
partners are self-employed in household enterprises. The essential feature of the selfemployed is that they have autonomy (i.e., regarding how, where and when to produce)
and economic independence (i.e., regarding market, scale of operation and money) for
carrying out operation. The fee or remuneration received by them consists of two parts the share of their labour and profit of the enterprise. In other words, their remuneration is
determined wholly or mainly by sales or profits of the goods or services which are
produced.
The self-employed persons may again be categorised into the following three groups:
(i) own-account workers: They are the self-employed who operate their enterprises
on their own account or with one or a few partners and who during the reference
period by and large, run their enterprise without hiring any labour. They may,
however, have unpaid helpers to assist them in the activity of the enterprise.
(ii) employers: The self-employed persons who work on their own account or with
one or a few partners and by and large run their enterprise by hiring labour are the
employers, and
(iii) helpers in household enterprise: The helpers are a category of self-employed
persons mostly family members who keep themselves engaged in their household
enterprises, working full or part time and do not receive any regular salary or wages
in return for the work performed. They do not run the household enterprise on their
own but assist the related person living in the same household in running the
household enterprise.
1.7.24 There is a category of workers who work at a place of their choice which is
outside the establishment that employs them or buys their product. Different expressions
like home workers, home based workers and out workers are synonymously used for
such workers. For the purpose of this survey, all such workers will be commonly termed
as home workers and will be categorised as self-employed. The home workers have
some degree of autonomy and economic independence in carrying out the work, and their
work is not directly supervised as is the case for the employees. Like the other selfemployed, these workers have to meet certain costs, like actual or imputed rent on the
buildings in which they work, costs incurred for heating, lighting and power, storage or
transportation, etc., thereby indicating that they have some tangible or intangible means
of production. It may be noted that employees are not required to provide such inputs for
production.

1.7.25 It may further be elaborated that the putting out system prevalent in the
production process in which a part of production which is put out is performed in
different household enterprises (and not at the employers establishment). For example,
bidi rollers obtaining orders from a bidi manufacturer will be considered as home
workers irrespective of whether or not they were supplied raw material (leaves, masala,
etc.), equipment (scissors) and other means of production. The fee or remuneration
received consists of two parts - the share of their labour and profit of the enterprise. In
some cases, the payment may be based on piece rate. Similarly, a woman engaged in
tailoring or embroidery work on order from a wholesaler, or making pappad on order
from some particular unit/contractor/trader at her home will be treated as home worker.
On the other hand, if she does the work in the employers premises, she will be treated as
employee. Again, if she is not undertaking these activities on orders from outside, but
markets the products by herself/other household members for profit, she will be
considered as an own account worker, if of course, she does not employ any hired help
more or less on a regular basis.
1.7.26 Regular salaried/wage employee: Persons working in others farm or non-farm
enterprises (both household and non-household) and getting in return salary or wages on
a regular basis (and not on the basis of daily or periodic renewal of work contract) are the
regular salaried/wage employees. The category not only includes persons getting time
wage but also persons receiving piece wage or salary and paid apprentices, both full
time and part-time.
1.7.27 Casual wage labour: A person casually engaged in others farm or non-farm
enterprises (both household and non-household) and getting in return wage according to
the terms of the daily or periodic work contract is a casual wage labour. Usually, in the
rural areas, a type of casual labourers can be seen who normally engage themselves in
'public works' activities. 'Public works' are those activities which are sponsored by
Government or local bodies for construction of roads, bunds, digging of ponds, etc. as
'test relief' measures (like flood relief, drought relief, famine relief, etc.) and also
employment generation scheme under poverty alleviation programmes (NREP, RLEGP,
etc.).
1.7.28 Different approaches for determining activity status: The persons surveyed are
to be classified into various activity categories on the basis of activities pursued by them
during certain specified reference periods. There are three reference periods for this
survey viz. (i) one year, (ii) one week and (iii) each day of the reference week. Based on
these three periods, three different measures of activity status are arrived at. These are
termed respectively as usual status, current weekly status and current daily status. The
activity status determined on the basis of the reference period of 1 year is known as the
usual activity status of a person, that determined on the basis of a reference period of 1
week is known as the current weekly status (cws) of the person and the activity status
determined on the basis of a reference period of 1 day is known as the current daily
status (cds) of the person.

1.7.29 Identification of each individual into a unique situation poses a problem when
more than one of three types of broad activity status viz. employed, unemployed and
not in labour force is concurrently obtained for a person. In such an eventuality, unique
identification under any one of the three broad activity status is done by adopting either
the major time criterion or priority criterion. The former is used for classification of
persons under 'usual activity status' and, the latter, for classification of persons under
current activity status. If, by adopting one of the two criteria mentioned above, a person
categorised as engaged in economic activity is found to be pursuing more than one
economic activity during the reference period, the appropriate detailed activity status
category will relate to the activity in which relatively more time has been spent. Similar
approach is adopted for non-economic activities also.
1.7.30 Usual activity status: The usual activity status relates to the activity status of a
person during the reference period of 365 days preceding the date of survey. The activity
status on which a person spent relatively longer time (major time criterion) during the
365 days preceding the date of survey is considered the usual principal activity status of
the person. To decide the usual principal activity of a person, he/she is first categorised as
belonging to the labour force or not, during the reference period on the basis of major
time criterion. Persons, thus, adjudged as not belonging to the labour force are assigned
the broad activity status 'neither working nor available for work'. For the persons
belonging to the labour force, the broad activity status of either 'working' or not working
but seeking and/or available for work is then ascertained again on the basis of the
relatively longer time spent in the labour force during the 365 days preceding the date of
survey. Within the broad activity status so determined, the detailed activity status
category of a person pursuing more than one such activity will be determined again on
the basis of the relatively longer time spent.
1.7.31 Subsidiary economic activity status: A person whose principal usual status is
determined on the basis of the major time criterion may have pursued some economic
activity for 30 days or more during the reference period of 365 days preceding the date
of survey. The status in which such economic activity is pursued during the reference
period of 365 days preceding the date of survey is the subsidiary economic activity status
of the person. In case of multiple subsidiary economic activities, the major activity and
status based on the relatively longer time spent criterion will be considered. It may be
noted that engagement in work in subsidiary capacity may arise out of the two following
situations:
i) a person may be engaged in a relatively longer period during the 365 days in
economic (non-economic activity) and for a relatively minor period, which is
not less than 30 days, in another economic activity (any economic activity).
(ii) a person may be pursuing an economic activity (non-economic activity)
almost throughout the year in the principal status and also simultaneously
pursuing another economic activity (any economic activity) for relatively
shorter time in a subsidiary capacity. In such cases, since both the activities are
being pursued throughout the year and hence the duration of both the activities

are more than 30 days, the activity which is being pursued for a relatively
shorter time will be considered as his/her subsidiary activity.
1.7.32 Current weekly activity status: The current weekly activity status of a person is
the activity status obtaining for a person during a reference period of 7 days preceding the
date of survey. It is decided on the basis of a certain priority cum major time
criterion. According to the priority criterion, the status of 'working' gets priority over the
status of 'not working but seeking or available for work', which in turn gets priority over
the status of 'neither working nor available for work'. A person is considered working (or
employed)) if he/she, while pursuing any economic activity, had worked for at least one
hour on at least one day during the 7 days preceding the date of survey. A person is
considered 'seeking or available for work (or unemployed)' if during the reference week
no economic activity was pursued by the person but he/she made efforts to get work or
had been available for work any time during the reference week though not actively
seeking work in the belief that no work was available. A person who had neither worked
nor was available for work any time during the reference week, is considered to be
engaged in non-economic activities (or not in labour force). Having decided the broad
current weekly activity status of a person on the basis of 'priority' criterion, the detailed
current weekly activity status is again decided on the basis of 'major time' criterion if a
person is pursuing multiple economic activities.
1.7.33 Current daily activity status: The activity pattern of the population, particularly
in the unorganised sector, is such that during a week, and sometimes, even during a day, a
person can pursue more than one activity. Moreover, many people can even undertake
both economic and non-economic activities on the same day of a reference week. The
current daily activity status for a person is determined on the basis of his/her activity
status on each day of the reference week using a priority-cum-major time criterion
(day to day labour time disposition). The following points may be noted for determining
the current daily status of a person:
i) Each day of the reference week is looked upon as comprising of either two 'half
days' or a 'full day for assigning the activity status.
ii) A person is considered 'working' (employed) for the entire day if he/she had
worked for 4 hours or more during the day.
iii) If a person was engaged in more than one of the economic activities for 4
hours or more on a day, he/she would be assigned two economic activities out
of the different economic activities on which he/she devoted relatively longer
time on the reference day. In such cases, one half day work will be
considered for each of those two economic activities (i.e. 0.5 intensity will be
given for each of these two economic activities).
iv) If the person had worked for 1 hour or more but less than 4 hours, he/she is
considered 'working' (employed) for half-day and 'seeking or available for
work' (unemployed) or 'neither seeking nor available for work' (not in labour

force) for the other half of the day depending on whether he was
seeking/available for work or not.
v) If a person was not engaged in 'work' even for 1 hour on a day but was
seeking/available for work even for 4 hours or more, he/she is considered
'unemployed' for the entire day. But if he/she was 'seeking/available for work'
for more than 1 hour and less than 4 hours only, he/she is considered
'unemployed' for half day and 'not in labour force' for the other half of the day.
vi) A person who neither had any 'work' to do nor was available for 'work' even
for half a day was considered 'not in labour force' for the entire day and is
assigned one or two of the detailed non-economic activity status depending
upon the activities pursued by him/her during the reference day.
It may be noted that while assigning intensity in Block 5.3, an intensity of 1.0 will be
given against an activity which is done for full day and 0.5, if it is done for half day.
1.7.34 There are certain terms used in connection with collection of items of information
relating to current activity status of persons. These are explained in the following
paragraphs.
1.7.35 Manual work: A job essentially involving physical labour is considered as
manual work. However, jobs essentially involving physical labour but also requiring a
certain level of general, professional, scientific or technical education are not to be
termed as 'manual work'. On the other hand, jobs not involving much of physical labour
and at the same time not requiring much educational (general, scientific, technical or
otherwise) background are to be treated as 'manual work'. Thus, engineers, doctors,
dentists, midwives, etc., are not considered manual workers even though their jobs
involve some amount of physical labour. But, peons, chowkidars, watchman, etc. are
considered manual workers even though their work might not involve much physical
labour. Manual work has been defined as work pursued in one or more of the following
occupational groups of the National Classification of Occupations (NCO-68):
Division 5: Service workers:
Group 52: cooks, waiters, bartenders and related workers (domestic and institutional)
Group 53: maid and other housekeeping service workers (not elsewhere classified)
Group 54: building caretakers, sweepers, cleaners and related workers
Group 55: launderers, dry cleaners and pressers
Group 56: hair dressers, barbers, beauticians and related worker
Family 570: fire fighters
Family 574: watchmen, gate keepers
Family 579: protective service workers not elsewhere classified
Division 6: Farmers, Fishermen, Hunters, Loggers and related workers:
Group 63: agricultural labourers

Group 64: plantation labourers and related workers

Group 65: other farm workers
Group 66: forestry workers
Group 67: hunters and related workers
Group 68: fishermen and related workers
Division 7-8-9: Production and related workers, transport equipment operators and
labourers:
All groups excluding Group 85 (electrical fitters and related workers) and Group 86
(broadcasting station and sound equipment operators and cinema projectionists).
1.7.36 Rural Labour: Manual labour working in agricultural and /or non-agricultural
occupations in return for wages paid either in cash or in kind (excluding exchange
labour) and living in rural areas, will be taken as rural labour.
1.7.37 Agricultural labour: A person will be considered to be engaged as agricultural
labour, if he/she follows one or more of the following agricultural occupations in the
capacity of a wage paid manual labour, whether paid in cash or kind or both:
(i) farming
(ii) dairy farming
(iii) production of any horticultural commodity
(iv) raising of livestock, bees or poultry
(v) any practice performed on a farm as incidental to or in conjunction with farm
operations (including forestry and timbering) and the preparation for market and
delivery to storage or to market or to carriage for transportation to market of farm
produce.
Working in fisheries is excluded from agricultural labour. Further, 'carriage for
transportation' refers only to the first stage of the transport from farm to the first place
of disposal.
1.7.38 Wage paid-manual labour: A person who does manual work in return for wages
in cash or kind or partly in cash and partly in kind (excluding exchange labour) is a wage
paid manual labour. Salaries are also to be counted as wages. A person who is selfemployed in manual work is not treated as a wage paid manual labour.
1.7.39 Cultivation: All activities relating to production of crops and related ancillary
activities are considered as cultivation. Growing of trees, plants or crops as plantation or
orchards (such as rubber, cashew, coconut, pepper, coffee, tea etc.) are not considered as
cultivation activities for the purpose of this survey. In general, the activities covered
under NIC-98 sub-classes 01111, 01112, 01113, 01115, 01119, 01121, 01122 and 01135
(excepting plantation of pepper and cardamom) are to be considered as cultivation.
1.7.40 Operation: It is the type of work performed by a person during a reference period
such as manual, non-manual, agricultural, non-agricultural, etc. Operation has been
combined with activity status and industry corresponding to the work performed.

Information regarding the type of operation is collected only for rural areas and
relating to current status only. The different types of operations are - ploughing,
sowing, transporting, weeding, harvesting, others (manual) and others (non-manual). In
the last two cases, the sector in which the work is performed is indicated by the industry.
It may be noted, that for 'regular salaried/wage employees' on leave or on holiday, the
'operation' relates to their respective function in the work or job from which he/she is
temporarily off. Similarly, for persons categorised as 'self-employed' but not working on
a particular day inspite of having work on that day, the operation will relate to the work
that he/she would have done if he/she had not enjoyed leisure on that day.
1.7.41 Nominal work: Work done by a person for 1 - 2 hours in a day during the
reference week is said to be a day with nominal work for the person. In the day-to-day
labour time disposition of the reference week, such a days work is considered to be 'halfdays' work (and it gets half intensity while accounting).
1.7.42 Earnings: Earnings refer to the wage/salary income (and not total earnings)
receivable for the wage/salaried work done during the reference week by the
wage/salaried employees and casual labourers. The wage/salary already received or
receivable may be in cash or kind or partly in cash and partly in kind. For recording the
wages and salaries:
i) The kind wages are evaluated at the current retail price.
ii) Bonus (expected or paid) and perquisites evaluated at retail prices and duly
apportioned for the reference week are also included in earnings.
iii) For any economic activity, amount received or receivable as 'over-time' for
the additional work done beyond normal working time is excluded.
1.7.43 Household principal industry and occupation: To determine the household
principal industry and occupation, the general procedure to be followed is to list all the
occupations pertaining to economic activities pursued by the members of the household
excluding those employed by the household and paying guests (who in view of their
staying and taking food in the household are considered as its normal members) during
the one year period preceding the date of survey, no matter whether such occupations are
pursued by the members in their principal or subsidiary (on the basis of earnings)
capacity. Out of the occupations listed that one which fetched the maximum earnings to
the household during the last 365 days preceding the date of survey would be considered
as the principal household occupation. It is quite possible that one or more members of
the household may pursue the household occupation in different industries. In such cases,
the particular industry out of all the different industries corresponding to the principal
occupation, which fetched the maximum earnings, should be considered as the principal
industry of the household. In extreme cases, the earnings may be equal in two different
occupations or industry-occupation combinations. By convention, in such cases, priority
will be given to the occupation or industry-occupation combination of the senior-most
member.

1.7.44 Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative & Innovative Education
(AIE): EGS & AIE support the following three broad kinds of strategies:
(a) Setting up schools in the school-less habitations.
(b) Intervention of mainstreaming of out of school children, viz., bridge courses,
back to school camps, etc.
(c) Strategies for very specific, difficult groups of children who cannot be
mainstreamed.
Strategy under (a) above refers to as the EGS component of EGS & AIE scheme and
strategies under (b) and (c) above together refer to as AIE component of the EGS &
AIE scheme.
EGS aims at setting up schools in the school-less habitations where no school exists
within a radius of 1 k.m and at least 15 children in the age group 6-14 years who are
not going to schools, are available. In exceptional cases, e.g., for remote habitations
in hilly areas for Jammu and Kashmir and part of North-Eastern region, EGS schools
could be supported even for 10 children. It may be noted that EGS & AIE is
applicable throughout the country and not limited to the educationally backward
states covered under the scheme of Non-formal Education (NFE). Such schools are in
operation under various names in different states, as for example, Sishu Siksha
Karmasuchi in West Bengal, Bastishala in Maharashtra, Rajiv Gandhi Swaran
Jayanti Pathshala in Rajasthan., Maabadi in Andhra Pradesh. For the purpose of
our survey, an individual who is attending or has become literate through schools
under EGS & AIE scheme will be considered under the coverage of EGS.
1.7.45 Vocational Training: A vocational training may broadly be defined as a training,
which prepares an individual for a specific vocation or occupation. The main objective of
vocational education and training is to prepare persons, especially the youth, for the
world of work and make them employable for a broad range of occupations in various
industries and other economic sectors. It aims at imparting training to persons in very
specific fields through providing significant hands on experience in acquiring
necessary skill, which will make them employable or create for them opportunities of
self-employment. Thus, the essential feature of the vocational training is that it lays more
emphasis on development of skill in a specific vocation or trade rather than building
knowledge.

1.7.46 Formal Vocational Training: The vocational training that takes place in
education and training institutions which follow a structured training programme and lead
to recognised certificates, diplomas or degrees, will be treated as formal one. But when
the vocational training neither follows a structured programme nor the training lead to
recognised certificates, diplomas or degrees, those training programmes will be treated as
non-formal vocational training. For the purpose of survey, formal vocational training will
have the following characteristics:
i) structured training programme towards a particular skill,

ii) certificate/diploma/degree received should have a recognition by

State/Central Government, Public Sector and other reputed concerns,
By structured training programme, it is meant that:
(a) the training programme should have a definite title with prescribed syllabus and
curriculum and a specified duration of the training, and
(b) the training should have some entry level eligibility in terms of education and age.
1.7.47 Non-formal Vocational Training: The expertise in a vocation or trade is
sometimes acquired by the succeeding generations from the other members of the
households, generally the ancestors, through gradual exposures to such works as are
involved in carrying out the profession by their ancestors. The expertise gained through
significant hands-on experience enables the individual to take up activities in selfemployment capacity or makes him employable. Acquiring such marketable expertise by
one, which enables him/her to carry out the trade or occupation of their ancestors over
generations, may also be considered, for the purpose of survey, to have received nonformal vocational training and that through hereditary sources. Any other non-formal
vocational training received through some sources other than the household members to
pursue a vocation that may either be hereditary or other profession, may be considered to
have received the training through other sources. The other sources may also include
the cases where the expertise for a vocation or trade has been developed even from the
household members or ancestors, provided the said vocation or trade is different from the
one relating to their ancestors. Thus a person may learn tailoring work from a master
tailor or a person may learn book-binding work from a printing press. All such expertise
will be considered to have received non-formal vocational training through other
sources. Mere possession of a skill, which neither creates opportunities for selfemployment nor makes a person employable, will not be considered as having vocational
training.
1.7.48 Non-Profit Institutions (NPI): NPIs are legal or social entities created for the
purpose of producing goods and services whose status does not permit them to be a
source of income, profit or other financial gain for the units that establish, control or
finance them. In practice, their productive activities are bound to generate either
surpluses or deficits but any surpluses they happen to make cannot be appropriated by
other institutional units. The articles of association by which they are established are
drawn up in such a way that the institutional units which control or manage them are not
entitled to a share in any profits or other income which they receive.
1.7.49 Philanthropic Institution: These are the non-profit institutions consisting of
charities, relief or aid agencies that are created for philanthropic purposes and not to
serve the interests of the members of the association controlling them. Such institutions
generally provide goods or services to households/institutions in need, including
households affected by natural disasters or war. The resources of such institutions are
provided mainly by donations in cash or in kind from the general public, corporations or
governments. They may also be provided by transfers from non-residents, including

similar kinds of institutions resident in other countries.

1.7.50 Definitions of various types of enterprises:
(i) Proprietary: When an individual is the sole owner of an enterprise it is a proprietary
enterprise. Own account production of fixed assets for own use, when produced by a
single member, will be classified as proprietary enterprise.
(ii) Partnership: Partnership is defined as the "relation between persons who have
agreed to share the profits of a business carried on by all or any one of them acting for
all". There may be two or more owners, belonging to the same or different households,
on a partnership basis, with or without formal registration (where there is a tacit
understanding about the distribution of profit among the so-called partners). Own
account production of fixed assets, when produced by two or more members belonging to
the same or different households will be classified as partnership enterprises. Thus, own
account production of fixed assets by a group of households for community use will be
classified as partnership enterprise.
(iii) Government/public sector enterprise: An enterprise, which is wholly owned/
run/managed by Central or State governments, quasi-government, institutions, local
bodies like universities, education boards, municipalities, etc. An enterprise should not be
treated as a public sector enterprise if it is run on a loan granted by government, local
body etc.
(iv) Private limited company: Private company means a company which by its articles:
(a) restricts the right to transfer its shares, if any,
(b) limits the number of its members to fifty not including(i) persons who are in the employment of the company, and
(ii) persons who, having been formerly in the employment of the company, were
members of the company while in that employment and have continued to be
members after the employment ceased; and
(c) prohibits any initiation to the public to subscribe for any share in, or debentures
of, the company.
[Where two or more persons hold one or more shares in a company jointly, they shall,
for the purpose of this definition, be treated as a single member.]
(v) Public limited company: A public limited company is defined as a company that is
not a private company. As such public companies can have an unlimited number of
members and can invite the public to subscribe to its shares and debentures. The
minimum number of members required to form a public company is seven.
(vi) Co-operative societies: Co-operative society is one that is formed through the cooperation of a number of persons, recognised as members of the society, to benefit
themselves. In the process, the funds are raised by members contributions/investments
and the profits generated out of the societys activities are shared by the members. The
government itself in a government agency can also be a member or shareholder of a

registered co-operative society but this fact cannot render the society into a public sector
enterprise for the purpose of this survey.
(vii) Trust: An arrangement through which one set of people, the trustees, are the legal
owners of property which is administered in the interest of another set, the beneficiaries.
Trusts may be set up to provide support for individuals or families, to provide pensions,
to run charities, to liquidate the property of the bankrupts for the benefit of their creditors,
or for the safe keeping of securities bought by trusts with their investors money. The
assets, which trusts hold are regulated by law, these must be administered in the interests
of the beneficiaries, and not for the profit of the trustees.
(viii) Employer Households (i.e. private households employing maid servant,
watchman, cook etc.): The households which are employing maid servant watchmen,
cook, private tutor, etc. will be considered notionally as enterprise for the purpose of this
survey and will be classified as Employer households.