The occupational structure in urban India has undergone significant changes in recent decades, particularly following economic liberalization, privatization, and globalization policies implemented in the early 1990s.
Before delving into the changes post-liberalization, let’s first understand the traditional occupational structure in urban India:
- Traditional Occupations: Historically, urban India’s occupational structure was characterized by a dominance of traditional occupations such as agriculture, small-scale manufacturing, trade, and services. Many urban residents were engaged in occupations passed down through generations, often linked to caste or community-based occupational roles.
- Public Sector Employment: In the pre-liberalization era, public sector employment played a significant role in urban India’s occupational structure. Government jobs, including administrative positions, public utilities, and state-owned enterprises, provided stable employment opportunities with benefits such as job security and pensions.
- Informal Sector: A substantial portion of urban employment was also in the informal sector, comprising small businesses, street vendors, domestic workers, and casual laborers. These jobs often lacked job security, social protections, and access to formal employment benefits.
Following economic liberalization, privatization, and globalization in the early 1990s, the occupational structure in urban India underwent several significant changes:
- Service Sector Growth: One of the most notable changes has been the rapid growth of the service sector, particularly in areas such as information technology, telecommunications, finance, healthcare, hospitality, and professional services. Urban centers like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune emerged as major hubs for IT and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries, attracting skilled workers from across the country.
- Corporate Employment: The expansion of private enterprises and multinational corporations led to an increase in corporate employment opportunities in urban areas. With the growth of sectors like banking, insurance, retail, and consulting, there was a shift towards formal, organized sector employment offering higher salaries, better working conditions, and career advancement prospects.
- Entrepreneurship and Start-ups: Economic liberalization facilitated an entrepreneurial culture in urban India, with a surge in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups. Cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi became hotspots for innovation, venture capital investment, and entrepreneurial activity across various industries, including technology, e-commerce, and fintech.
- Informal Sector Challenges: While the formal sector witnessed growth, challenges persisted in the informal sector, where a significant portion of urban residents remained employed. Informal workers continued to face issues such as low wages, precarious employment conditions, lack of social protection, and limited access to healthcare and education.
- Skill Upgradation and Education: The demand for skilled labor increased in urban India, leading to greater emphasis on education, vocational training, and skill development programs. The expansion of educational institutions, vocational training centers, and online learning platforms aimed to equip urban youth with the skills required for employment in emerging industries.
Overall, economic liberalization, privatization, and globalization transformed the occupational structure in urban India, leading to the growth of the service sector, expansion of corporate employment, rise of entrepreneurship, and increased demand for skilled labor. While these changes brought opportunities for economic growth and development, addressing issues of informal employment, income inequality, and social exclusion remains a challenge for policymakers and urban planners.