Revision summary
Informalisation is work without secure contract and social security. Hart named the sector; Breman showed Indian footloose labour as a system. PLFS files record a large uncovered workforce. Gender and caste sort who remains informal. It is a capitalist form, not a pre-modern leftover.
Model answer
Introduction
Informalisation is the spread of work without secure contract, social security, or recognised union rights. In India it is not a leftover of tradition. It is how much of capitalism actually hires.
Body
The meaning
- Keith Hart named the informal sector in African cities. Jan Breman showed footloose labour in India as a system, not a waiting room for factories.
- Informalisation can mean never-formal work, or the stripping of once-formal mills and public jobs.
Indian reference
- PLFS and earlier NSSO files show a large majority of workers outside formal social security.
- Construction, home-based garments, domestic work, and gig platforms extend the pattern into cities.
- Caste and gender organise who stays informal: Dalit and Adivasi bodies in hazardous tasks, women in unpaid and piece-rate care-linked work.
Relation to capital
- Karl Marx’s reserve army and Harry Braverman’s deskilling help, but Indian informality also uses putting-out and labour contractors.
- The state may celebrate ease of business while the Factories Act circle shrinks.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD INF[Informalisation] --> NO[No contract security union] INF --> IN[India majority PLFS] IN --> C[Contractor caste gender] CAP[Capital] --> INF
Conclusion
Informalisation is insecure, uncovered labour as a durable form. In India it is majority practice, shaped by contractors, caste, and gender, not a brief stop on the way to Fordist jobs.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
Discuss the changing interface between state and civil society in post-independent India
Next question in the 2017 paper (Q5). View answer →
-
Is informal work the same as illegal work?
No. Much of it is lawful yet uncovered. Illegality is a separate question.
-
Does growth automatically formalise labour?
Indian experience shows growth with persistent informality.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2017 · Q1(d) · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
Critically analyse Talcott Parsons conception of pattern variable' -
2017 · Q3(a) · Sociology GS 1 · 20 marks
Discuss distinct sociological method adopted by Emile Durkheim in his study of 'suicide' -
2017 · Q3(b) · Sociology GS 1 · 20 marks
Analyse Marxian conception of historical materialism as a critique of Hegelian dialectics -
2017 · Q5(c) · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
Give an assessment of Durkheimian notion of 'sacred' and 'profane' in sociology of religion -
2017 · Q6(b) · Sociology GS 1 · 20 marks
What is new in 'new social movement '? Elaborate your answer with special reference to India -
2017 · Q7(b) · Sociology GS 1 · 20 marks
Discuss the regional variations of kinship system in Indian society -
2016 · Q1(d) · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
Evaluate Marx's ideas on mode of production -
2016 · Q2(b) · Sociology GS 1 · 15 marks
Describe the functional prerequisites of social system as given by Talcott Parsons. Examined in the context of a university as a social system.
More from this paper
Q1(a) · UPSC Mains 2017 · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
Explain how sociology has emerged as a distinct discipline based on rationality and scientific tamper
Sociology
Sociology arose as a science of society after industry and revolution. Comte named it; Durkheim, Marx, and Weber gave it method and objects. Rationality is both a method and, in Weber, a historical process. Scientific temper uses comparison, rates, and social facts. The Census later became a public file for that temper.
Q1(b) · UPSC Mains 2017 · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
Examine ethnomethodological and phenomenological perspective as critique of positivism
Sociology as Science
Positivism measures external facts; these perspectives study meaning and members’ methods. Schutz described the everyday life-world of typifications. Garfinkel showed order as accomplished, indexical work. Berger and Luckmann treated institutions as objectivated meanings. The critique qualifies rates; it does not delete official files.
Q1(c) · UPSC Mains 2017 · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
Illustrate with example the significance of variable in sociology research
Sociology as Science
A variable is a concept with more than one comparable value. It states relations and forces operational definition. Durkheim’s suicide rates illustrate theoretically named variables. Census and NFHS work variables can hide unpaid care if poorly coded. Blumer’s warning is part of the significance, not a footnote.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.