India's “Informal Sector”: Demystifying a Problematic Concept

Abstract

In both academic and activist discourse, particularly with regard to India, the concept of the informal sector has come to prominence, particularly after India's liberalization. This article demystifies the idea of the informal sector in India, revealing the multilayered existence of various groups of workers in vulnerable positions which are by no means inevitable or permanent but rather are the product of India's history and political economy. Accordingly, it is the case that certain interventions have the potential to transform the lives of India's unorganized workers, but such policy would need to target the specific needs of each unorganized group of workers. We argue that the concept and discourse of the informal sectors imply the permanence of unorganized, unregulated work. Conceptualizing Indian labor in this way leads to a position that the state should provide support and welfare measures to help workers survive at a bare minimum level of subsistence, but also to a fundamental failure to address the structural and specific causes of workers’ vulnerabilities.