OCCUPATIONAL STRUCTURE
During
the colonial period, the occupational structure of India, i.e., distribution of
working persons across different industries and sectors, showed little sign of
change. The agricultural sector accounted for the largest share of workforce,
which usually remained at a high of 70-75 per cent while the manufacturing and
the services sectors accounted for only 10 and 15-20 per cent respectively.
Another striking aspect was the growing regional variation. Parts of the then
Madras Presidency (comprising areas of the present-day states of Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka), Bombay and Bengal witnessed a decline in
the dependence of the workforce on the agricultural sector with a commensurate
increase in the manufacturing and the services sectors. However, there had been
an increase in the share of workforce in agriculture during the same time in
states such as Orissa, Rajasthan and Punjab.
