Previous Year Question
Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R).
Assertion (A): The labour force participation rate falling sharply in the recent years for females in India.
Reason (R): The decline in labour force participation rate is due to the improved family income and increase in education.
Select the correct answer from codes given below:
Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
(A) is true, but (R) is false
(A) is false, but (R) is true
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
Assertion (A) is correct. In the time context in which the question was asked, India had witnessed a long-term decline in the Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR). The Economic Survey 2017-18 also highlighted this decline.
Reason (R) is also correct. Rising education among women and improvement in household income were identified among the supply-side factors reducing female labour-force participation. As family income rises, the economic pressure on some women to enter paid employment may decline, while longer participation in education may also delay entry into the labour market.
However, the decline in female labour participation cannot be fully explained by these two factors alone. Demand-side factors were also important. Mechanisation and structural transformation in agriculture reduced demand for female agricultural labour. In addition, there was an inadequate availability of regular, part-time and secure jobs preferred by many women. The Economic Survey referred to both supply-side and demand-side factors.
Therefore, improved family income and education are among the factors behind the decline, but they do not provide a sufficient explanation for the entire decline.
Current Status (2026): It would no longer be correct to say that female LFPR is continuously falling sharply. In PLFS 2023-24, the LFPR for females aged 15 years and above was 41.7%, compared with 23.3% in 2017-18. In the latest calendar-year PLFS 2025, female LFPR for the same age group in usual status (ps+ss) was 40.0%.