Abstract

Time Use Survey (TUS) provides a framework for measuring time dispositions by the population on different activities. One distinguishing feature of Time Use Survey from other household surveys is that it can capture time disposition on different aspects of human activities, be it paid, unpaid or other activities with such details which is otherwise not possible in other surveys. In recent years, time use surveys have gained much impetus among policy makers and other data users for their usefulness in measuring various aspects of gender statistics. National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in India conducted the first Time Use Survey during January - December 2019. The second Time Use Survey will be conducted during January -December 2024.

Objective of the survey

The primary objective of Time Use Survey (TUS) is to measure participation of persons in paid and unpaid activities. The survey will be an important source of information on the time spent in unpaid caregiving activities, unpaid volunteer work, unpaid domestic service producing activities of the household members. This will also provide information on time spent on learning, socializing, leisure activities, self-care activities, etc. by the household members.

Geographic coverage

The survey covers whole of the Indian Union except the villages in Andaman and Nicobar Islands which are difficult to access.

Analysis unit

Unit of survey: The first stage unit (FSU) is the village/UFS block/SU depending on the sampling frame.

Sampling procedure

In Time Use Survey (TUS), a rural village was notionally divided into a number of subunits (SU) of more or less equal population during the preparation of frame. Census 2011 population of villages was projected by applying suitable growth rates and the number of SUs formed in a village was determined apriori. The above procedure of SU formation was implemented in the villages with population more than or equal to 1000 as per Census 2011. In the remaining villages, no SU was formed. SUs were formed in urban sector also. The procedure was similar to that adopted in rural areas except that SUs were formed on the basis of households in the Urban Frame Survey (UFS) frame instead of population, since UFS frame does not have population. Each UFS block with number of households more than or equal to 250 was divided into a number of SUs. In the remaining UFS blocks, no SU was formed.

A stratified two stage design was adopted for the TUS. The first stage units (FSU) were villages/UFS blocks/sub-units (SUs) as per the situation. The ultimate stage units (USU) were households in both the sectors.

In the rural areas, stratification was made as follows: (a) all inhabited villages within each NSS State region constituted a rural stratum and (b) a special stratum, in the rural areas only, was formed at all-India level before the strata are formed in each State/UT. This stratum comprised all the uninhabited villages as per Census 2011 belonging to allStates/U Ts. In urban areas strata were formed within each NSS State region on the basis of size class of towns as per Census 2011.

Sub-Stratification in rural areas: In rural areas, three groups of villages were formed within each stratum (except special rural stratum) as follows: Group 1: all villages (Panchayat wards for Kerala) with Census 2011 population less than 250 Group 2: all villages (Panchayat wards for Kerala) with Census 2011 population more than or equal to 250 but less than 500 Group 3: remaining villages

The sample size for a rural stratum was allocated among 3 groups in proportion to Census population. Sub-strata was demarcated in Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3 respectively in such a way that each sub-stratum comprises a group of villages (all SUs of a village considered together) of the arranged frame and have more or less equal Census population within the respective group.

Sub-Stratification in urban areas: Sub-strata were demarcated in such a way that each sub-stratum comprised a group of UFS blocks (all SUs within the block taken together)having more or less equal number of households.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Rural population (% of total population) in India was reported at 63.13 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. India - Rural population - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Abstract

National Statistical Office (NSO) of India will be conducting Annual Survey on Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2023-24 during October 2023 to September 2024.

Objective of Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2023-24

Objective of Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) is to exclusively measure various economic and operational characteristics of unincorporated non-agricultural establishments pertaining to manufacturing, trade and other services sector (excluding construction). The unit of enquiry of the ASUSE is an ‘establishment’. The main indicators of this survey are various economic characteristics such as, estimated number of establishments, estimated number of workers, GVA per worker, GVA per establishment, emoluments per hired worker, etc. Besides, it also collects information on different types of operational characteristics such as type of ownership, type of location of the establishment, nature of operation, registration status, use of ICT, etc. However, while generating estimates from unit level data, the user should take into account the fact that any study variable created by the user as a combination of two or more operational characteristics (for example, whether the establishment is an NPI and maintaining audited books of accounts) may result in very few sample observations in that domain and hence, can produce estimates which may not be reliable. Besides the study variable, the survey has also gathered auxiliary information on the item 1401 - “Income of the establishment from the entrepreneurial activity(ies) (excluding all kind of agricultural income)” in Block 14. The sole purpose of gathering on this item was to check the internal consistency and validation of the data and not to compile estimates/indicators based on this information. While using the estimates for the Union Territories and smaller States, it may be kept in mind that the sample sizes for them may not be adequate enough for getting sufficiently reliable estimates and interpretation thereof should be made with caution. Similarly, while interpreting the results using estimates at much deeper cross-sectional level (e.g. district level), data users must keep in mind the inadequacy, if any, of the corresponding domain specific samples before arriving at any conclusion. Renting of building for residential purpose was included in coverage of activities in ASUSE 2023-24 under a special NIC code 68108 which was not collected in ASUSE 2022-23. A separate table has been presented in the report providing the estimated number of establishments and workers in different States/UTs engaged in the activity of renting for residential purpose. However, estimates presented in this report in all other tables and statements exclude those establishments.

Comparability of ASUSE 2023-24 with previous ASUSE:

There has been some change in the treatment of "teachers providing tuition" and "individuals serving as housemaids, cooks, gardeners, governesses, babysitters, chowkidars, night watchmen, etc." in ASUSE 2023-24 in comparison to ASUSE 2022-23 or ASUSE 2021-22. Teachers providing tuitions to students by visiting the households of students in lieu of fixed remuneration was treated as out of coverage in earlier ASUSE (2021-22 and 2022-23). However, in ASUSE 2023-24, they were considered within coverage. Similarly, the individuals serving as housemaids, cooks, gardeners, governess, babysitters, chowkidars, night watchman, etc. to a number of households/establishments for activities like grooming of the floor, dusting, cleaning of utensils were treated as self-employed and were covered in ASUSE 2023-24 but not in ASUSE 2021-22 and ASUSE 2022-23. Users may take due cognizance of this fact while using the data for comparison purposes.

Geographic coverage

The survey will cover the rural and urban areas of whole of India (except the villages in Andaman and Nicobar Islands which are difficult to access). The definitions of urban and rural areas as per census 2011 are given below:

Urban: Constituents of urban area are Statutory Towns, Census Towns and Outgrowths.

Statutory Town (ST): All places with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified towns area committee, etc.

Census Town (CT): Places that satisfy the following criteria are termed as Census Towns (CTs). a. A minimum population of 5000 b. At least 75% of the male main working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits c. A density of population of at least 400 per sq.km.

Out Growth (OG): Out Growth should be a viable unit such as a village or part of a village contiguous to a statutory town and possess the urban features in terms of infrastructure and amenities such as pucca roads, electricity, taps, drainage system, education institutions, post offices, medical facilities, banks, etc. Examples of OGs are Railway colonies, University campuses, Port areas, that may come up near a CT or statutory towns outside its statutory limits but within the revenue limit of a village or villages contiguous to the town or city.

Urban Agglomeration (UA): It is a continuous urban spread constituting a town and its adjoining urban outgrowths (OGs) or two or more physically contiguous towns together and any adjoining urban out-growth of such towns.

Rural: All area other than urban are rural. The basic unit for rural area is the revenue village.

Sampling procedure

Outline of sample design: A stratified multi-stage sampling design will be adopted for ASUSE.

Rural sector: The first stage units (FSU) will be the census villages in the rural sector. For rural part of Kerala, Panchayat wards (PW) will be taken as FSUs.

Urban sector: The First Stage Units (FSU) will be the latest updated UFS (Urban Frame Survey) blocks.

The Ultimate Stage Units (USU) will be establishments for both the sectors. In the case of large FSUs, one intermediate stage of sampling will be the selection of three hamlet-groups (HGs)/sub-blocks (SBs) from each of the large FSUs.

Sampling frame to be used for selection of FSUs

Census 2011 list of villages will be used as the sampling frame for rural areas. Auxiliary information such as number of workers, etc. available from Sixth Economic Census (EC) frame will be used for stratification, sub-stratification and selection of FSUs, for rural areas (except Kerala). In rural areas of Kerala, list of Panchayat Wards (PW) as per Census 2011 will be used as sampling frame. For all urban areas, the latest updated list of UFS blocks will be the sampling frame.

Stratification of FSUs:

Rural sector: Each NSS State region will constitute a rural stratum.

Urban sector: In urban areas, strata will be formed within each NSS State region on the basis of population of towns as per Census 2011. The tentative stratum numbers and their composition (within each NSS State region) will be as follows:

stratum 1 : all towns with population less than 50,000 stratum 2 : all towns with population 50,000 or more but less than 3 lakhs stratum 3 : all towns with population 3 lakhs or more but less than 10 lakhs stratum 4, 5, 6, ... : each city with population 10 lakhs or more

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Abstract

The National Sample Surveys (NSS) are being conducted by the Government of India since 1950 to collect socio-economic data employing scientific sampling methods. Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24 will commence from August 2023.

The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) is designed to collect information on consumption of goods and services by the households. Information collected in HCES is used for analyzing and understanding the consumption and expenditure pattern, standard of living and well-being of the households. Besides, the data of the survey provides budget shares of different commodity groups that is used for preparation of the weighting diagram for compilation of official Consumer Price Indices (CPIs). The data collected in HCES is also utilized for deriving various other macroeconomic indicators.

Geographic coverage

8,684 FSUs in the rural areas and 6,143 in the urban areas have been surveyed in HCES:2023-24. The total sample size of 14,827FSUs has been allocated to State/UTs in proportion to Census 2011 population, subject to a minimum allocation of 40 FSUs.

Sampling procedure

The latest survey on household consumption expenditure (previously known as household consumer expenditure survey) was conducted during the period August 2023 to July 2024 in which information was collected from each sampled household in three questionnaires, namely, Questionnaire: FDQ (Food Items), Questionnaire: CSQ (Consumables & Services) and Questionnaire: DGQ (Durable Items) in three separate monthly visits in a quarter. Apart from these, another questionnaire, namely, Questionnaire: HCQ was canvassed to collect information on household characteristics.

In HCES: 2023-24, a multi-stage stratified sampling design was used where villages/urban blocks or sub-units of these were regarded as the First Stage Units (FSU) and the households were the Ultimate Stage Units (USU). Both the FSUs and USUs were selected with Simple Random Sampling Without Replacement (SRSWOR). 18 sample households were canvassed within an FSU.

The survey period of HCES:2023-24was divided into 10 panels, each consisting of three months. In the first month of any panel,Questionnaire: HCQ along with any one of the questionnaires, i.e., FDQ/CSQ/DGQwere canvassed in the selected households. During the second month of the panel, any one from the remaining two questionnaires was canvassed and in the last month, the last questionnaire was canvassed. The sequence of the questionnaires to be canvassed in each month of a panel for a particular FSU was decided randomly to eliminate bias that may arise due to the adoption of a particular sequencing for canvassing. Thus, all six possible sequences, i.e., [(Q1, Q2, Q3), (Q1, Q3, Q2), (Q2, Q1, Q3), (Q2, Q3, Q1), (Q3, Q1, Q2) and (Q3, Q2, Q1)], where Q1 refers to FDQ, Q2 refers to CSQ and Q3 refers to DGQ, were canvassed at random in the sample households.

The sampling frame for urban sector is the list of Urban Frame Survey (UFS) blocks as per latest Urban Frame Survey and for rural sector, it is the list of villages as per Census 2011 updated by removing those villages which are urbanized and included in latest UFS (till the time of sample selection).Sometimes, with a view to ensure uniformity in the size of FSUs and operational convenience, large villages/UFS blocks are notionally divided into smaller units of more or less equal size, known as sub-units depending on a pre-defined criteria based on population in the village or number of households in the UFS block. The sector-specific criteria for sub-unit formation are as below:

Rural Sector (i) The number of SUs to be formed in the villages (with Census 2011 population of 1000 or more and except some States/UTs) are decided based on projected present population of the village. The criteria aregiven below:

Projected Population of the village No. of SUs to be formed
less than 1200 1
1200 to 2399 2 2400 to 3599 3
… …

(ii) For rural areas of Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Ladakh, Parts of Uttarakhand (except four districts Dehradun, Nainital, Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar), Jammu and Kashmir (seven districts Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur, Reasi, Doda, Kishtwar, Ramban) and Idukki district of Kerala; SU is formed in a village if population as per Census 2011 is more than or equals to 500. The criteria for the number of SU to be formed are as below:

Projected Population of the village Number of SUs to be formed
less than 600 1
600 to 1199 2
1200 to 1799 3
... ...

Urban Sector: (i) SUs are formed in those UFS blockshaving more than or equal to 250 households. The number of SUs to be formed within the UFS blocks is decided by the following criteria:

Number of Households in UFS Block Number of SUs to be formed
less than 250 1
250 to 499 2
500 to 749 3
… …
Thus, the list of Villages / UFS Blocks / Sub-Units (for those villages or UFS blocks where sub-units are formed within) together formed the sampling frame for First Stage Unit selection.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

In 2023, approximately a third of the total population in India lived in cities. The trend shows an increase of urbanization by more than 4 percent in the last decade, meaning people have moved away from rural areas to find work and make a living in the cities. Leaving the fieldOver the last decade, urbanization in India has increased by almost 4 percent, as more and more people leave the agricultural sector to find work in services. Agriculture plays a significant role in the Indian economy and it employs almost half of India’s workforce today, however, its contribution to India’s GDP has been decreasing while the services sector gained in importance. No rural exodus in sightWhile urbanization is increasing as more jobs in telecommunications and IT are created and the private sector gains in importance, India is not facing a shortage of agricultural workers or a mass exodus to the cities yet. India is a very densely populated country with vast areas of arable land – over 155 million hectares of land was cultivated land in India as of 2015, for example, and textiles, especially cotton, are still one of the major exports. So while a shift of the workforce focus is obviously taking place, India is not struggling to fulfill trade demands yet.

Over 909 million people in India lived in rural areas in 2023, a decrease from 2022. Urban India, although far behind with over 508 million people, had a higher year-on-year growth rate during the measured period.