Women, Population, Poverty & Urbanisation

Amid rising public attention on youth and jobs, India's employment data is again under the scanner. Private data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows the share of working-age Indians holding a job falling over the past decade, even as official Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) figures from the government show participation and employment ratios improving. This article explains the core concepts — working-age population, labour force, the Employment Rate (Worker Population Ratio), Labour Force Participation Rate and Unemployment Rate — clarifies why these data sources diverge, and links the debate to "jobless growth" and India's demographic dividend.

A recent Indian Express report highlighted that fertility rates are falling across the world despite very different economic and social conditions, while several governments are trying cash incentives, IVF support and housing policies to encourage childbirth. For UPSC, the issue is important because it links population, demographic dividend, ageing, women’s autonomy, social policy, health systems, labour markets and India’s long-term development planning.

On March 27, 2026, the government released the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data for the full calendar year 2025. The numbers show that women saw higher year-on-year wage growth than men in all three major job types — salaried, self-employed and casual labour — even though women continue to earn less overall. This is the first time such a clear trend has appeared across every category, and it comes at a time when the government is focusing on improving women’s participation in the workforce.

A recent modelling study published in the journal Human Reproduction predicts a 10.5% decline in India's twinning rate by 2100 due to falling fertility rates, yet the country will still account for the world's largest share of twin births (23.4%) owing to its massive population size. This has significant public health and demographic implications, as twins face higher mortality risks, and experts are calling for a national twin registry to study environmental factors like pollution alongside genetics, drawing parallels from China's approach to twin research.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that the 2027 Census will be India's first fully digital exercise, where nearly 34 lakh enumerators will use their own smartphones and dedicated mobile apps to collect data, replacing traditional paper-based methods. This move aims to ensure real-time data processing, faster publication, and enhanced accuracy for policy-making. The announcement comes amid preparations for the census, delayed from 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and includes new features like self-enumeration and caste data collection to support welfare schemes and delimitation of constituencies.