Informal Sector

Order of the National Green Tribunal regarding pollution of Godavari river, Telangana, 29/05/2025

Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of News Item titled "Telangana: Deepening pollution crisis in Godawari threatens lives livelihoods appearing in the Telangana Today dated 13.05.2025" dated 29/05/2025. The application was registered suo-motu on the basis of the news item titled Telangana: Deepening pollution crisis in Godawari …

An investigation into e-waste flows in India

Reverse supply chains that characterize reuse and recycling remains the primary focus of large businesses in a globalized economy. This article critically examines the environmental and social benefits of reuse that would result through systematic interventions in the existing WEEE trade chain in India. There exists an increasing body of …

Paanwalas in Mumbai property rights, social capital and informal sector livelihood

How institutions frame economic transactions is crucial to the ability of the poor in the informal sector to fi nd their way out of poverty. The literature points to two crucial aspects of the lived reality of the urban informal sector: the network of social relationships and property rights. This …

Missing labour force: An explanation

Trends in employment and unemployment in India, as presented by the quinquennial surveys of the National Sample Survey Office for the past decades, have raised many questions for which there are no easy answers. This paper attempts to address some missing links. With the help of time use statistics, it …

Making ends meet - Youth enterprise at the rural-urban intersections

Much of the scholarship associated with the “urban turn” in south Asia has focused on the upper middle class or the poor. This study examines social change through the lens of interstitial places and populations. In particular, it focuses on young men who find themselves “in-between” in multiple senses: between …

E-Waste law: New paradigm or business as usual?

The new e-waste rules notified by the government are an important step forward. However, loopholes which allow producers to evade their responsibility and the informal sector to evade environmental and health controls need to be addressed. It is also important to create mass awareness and make it easier for the …

Hazardous mountains

Dealing with e-waste must remain the primary responsibility of manufacturers of electronic goods. (Editorial)

Creating employment in the Twelfth Five-Year plan

This paper analyses employment trends and addresses the problem of creating decent and productive employment in the non-agricultural sector during the first decade of the 21st century. Its primary interest is to examine the transition from informal employment in the unorganised sector towards formal employment in the non-agricultural organised sector. …

The interplay of state, market and society in the socio-spatial transformation of “villages in the city” in Guangzhou

This paper examines the changes in the ways in which villagers have gained access to resources and services over time in what are now “villages in the city” within the city of Guangzhou. It compares and contrasts three periods: the clan-based traditional villages, the commune period and the period since …

Urbanization, gender and urban poverty: paid work and unpaid carework in the city

The majority of the world’s population now live in urban centres, which will also absorb virtually all population growth in the next century. Urbanisation involves major shifts in the ways people work and live, and offers unprecedented opportunities for improved standards of living, higher life expectancy and higher literacy levels, …

Urban transportation infrastructure and poverty reduction: Delhi Metro’s impact on the cycle rickshaw rental market

This paper, on the basis of a primary survey of cycle rickshaw pullers and rickshaw owners in Delhi, India, estimate the causal impact of the opening and extension of Delhi Metro on the rental rates of cycle rickshaws. The cycle rickshaw rental market provides employment opportunities for unskilled, assetless workers …

Sustainable solid waste management in India

This study examined the present status of waste management in India, its effects on public health and the environment, and the prospects of introducing improved means of disposing municipal solid waste (MSW) in India. The systems and techniques discussed are informal and formal recycling, aerobic composting and mechanical biological treatment, …

Informal sector and conditions of employment in India (July 2009 – June 2010)

Keeping in view the significant proportion of workers in India engaged in the informal sector of the economy, a set of probing questions were asked to usual status workers engaged in non-agricultural sectors as well as agricultural sector (except those engaged in only growing of crops, market gardening, horticulture and …

FDI in retail: Misplaced expectations and half-truths

The central government claims that allowing foreign direct investment into India’s retail sector will benefit small farmers, expand employment and lower food inflation. What has been the experience in India with organised retail so far and what has been the global experience with FDI?

Electronic waste recycling for developing economies

This article reviews the progress of electronic waste recycling around the world and emphasises the need to give more economic importance to this sector in the developing nations. Two cases are considered for determining a model of recycling under the present constraints. These alternative models can provide a basic foundation …

Electronic waste recycling for developing economies

This article reviews the progress of electronic waste recycling around the world and emphasises the need to give more economic importance to this sector in the developing nations. Two cases are considered for determining a model of recycling under the present constraints. These alternative models can provide a basic foundation …

Failing the grade: how cities across India are breaking the rules, ignoring the informal recycling sector and unable to make the grade

Indian policies and rules, while not perfect, have some important safeguards and recognition for informal sector recyclers, particularly wastepickers. However, municipalities, urban policy makers, and private companies ignore them while conducting business in solid waste management. In so doing, they bypass the environment and the poor. They disrupt a chain …

Employment and unemployment situation in India 2009-10

The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), as a part of its 66th round survey programme during the period July 2009 - June 2010, carried out an all-India household survey on the subject of employment and unemployment in India. In this survey, the nation-wide enquiry was conducted to generate estimates of …

Collection and recycling of waste paper in India

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion has prepared this discussion paper on “Collection and recycling of waste paper in India”, with the objective of developing a suitable policy framework to define the obligations of producers and users, to sensitize the citizens to improve the segregation, collection and reuse of …

Informal sector e-waste recycling practices in Bangladesh

This study aims at examining the current practice of recycling e-waste in the informal sectors of Bangladesh and identifying the problems towards development of a system of hazard-free e-waste recycling in the country. It is based on both primary and secondary data sources. The sample comprised of owners and workers …

Credibility of equal access to credit: Does gender matter?

This article examines the National Sample Survey Organisation unit record data pertaining to debt and investment (59th round) and highlights inequality in access to credit by certain segments of society. In particular, it shows that weaker sections such as female-headed households have a much lower access than their male counterpart …

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