The Indian Bidi Industry: Trends in Employment and Wage Differentials
Background: The bidi industry in India is predominantly an unorganized sector. It continues to enjoy tax benefits, arguably, to protect bidi workers' interests and employment. Our objective was to study trends in employment and wage differentials in the bidi industry using nationally representa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.572638/full |
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| author | Monika Arora Monika Arora Pritam Datta Avnika Barman Praveen Sinha Vineet Gill Munish Deepika Bahl Soumyadeep Bhaumik Gaurang P. Nazar Gaurang P. Nazar Fikru Tullu |
| author_facet | Monika Arora Monika Arora Pritam Datta Avnika Barman Praveen Sinha Vineet Gill Munish Deepika Bahl Soumyadeep Bhaumik Gaurang P. Nazar Gaurang P. Nazar Fikru Tullu |
| author_sort | Monika Arora |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: The bidi industry in India is predominantly an unorganized sector. It continues to enjoy tax benefits, arguably, to protect bidi workers' interests and employment. Our objective was to study trends in employment and wage differentials in the bidi industry using nationally representative data.Methods: We studied trends in employment and wages in the bidi industry using secondary data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Government of India–the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) (2000–2001 to 2011–2012) and Enterprises Survey (2000–2001, 2005–2006, 2010–2011).Results: The bidi industry contributed to only 0.65% of the total gross value added (GVA) by the entire manufacturing industry. Employment in this industry was primarily through contractors. Bidi workers earned only 17% of wages compared to workers in other manufacturing industries. Although females constituted the majority of bidi workers, they earned INR 7,000 to 8,000 (USD 155.7 to 178) less than male bidi workers annually. Despite the increase in bidi industry profits from INR 1.7 billion (USD 37.8 million) in 2005–2006 to INR 12.8 billion (USD 285 million) in 2010–2011, the wages of bidi workers have continued to decline over this period.Conclusion: Bidi workers earn much less compared to workers in other manufacturing industries and are subject to income inequality. There is a need to increase registration of the bidi industry for better administration of taxes and prevention of exploitation of the bidi workers. Skill building and alternative employment could provide better job quality, wages, social security and employment benefits. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-22T16:55:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bbda9a3e6f5c43a5852003bc8f90bd25 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-22T16:55:47Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-bbda9a3e6f5c43a5852003bc8f90bd252022-12-21T18:19:27ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652020-10-01810.3389/fpubh.2020.572638572638The Indian Bidi Industry: Trends in Employment and Wage DifferentialsMonika Arora0Monika Arora1Pritam Datta2Avnika Barman3Praveen Sinha4Vineet Gill Munish5Deepika Bahl6Soumyadeep Bhaumik7Gaurang P. Nazar8Gaurang P. Nazar9Fikru Tullu10Health Promotion Division, Public Health Foundation of India, Gurugram, IndiaHealth Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth (HRIDAY), New Delhi, IndiaNational Institute of Public Finance and Policy, New Delhi, IndiaHealth Promotion Division, Public Health Foundation of India, Gurugram, IndiaWorld Health Organization Country Office for India, New Delhi, IndiaWorld Health Organization Country Office for India, New Delhi, IndiaHealth Promotion Division, Public Health Foundation of India, Gurugram, IndiaThe George Institute for Global Health, New Delhi, IndiaHealth Promotion Division, Public Health Foundation of India, Gurugram, IndiaHealth Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth (HRIDAY), New Delhi, IndiaWorld Health Organization Country Office for India, New Delhi, IndiaBackground: The bidi industry in India is predominantly an unorganized sector. It continues to enjoy tax benefits, arguably, to protect bidi workers' interests and employment. Our objective was to study trends in employment and wage differentials in the bidi industry using nationally representative data.Methods: We studied trends in employment and wages in the bidi industry using secondary data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and the Central Statistics Office (CSO), Government of India–the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) (2000–2001 to 2011–2012) and Enterprises Survey (2000–2001, 2005–2006, 2010–2011).Results: The bidi industry contributed to only 0.65% of the total gross value added (GVA) by the entire manufacturing industry. Employment in this industry was primarily through contractors. Bidi workers earned only 17% of wages compared to workers in other manufacturing industries. Although females constituted the majority of bidi workers, they earned INR 7,000 to 8,000 (USD 155.7 to 178) less than male bidi workers annually. Despite the increase in bidi industry profits from INR 1.7 billion (USD 37.8 million) in 2005–2006 to INR 12.8 billion (USD 285 million) in 2010–2011, the wages of bidi workers have continued to decline over this period.Conclusion: Bidi workers earn much less compared to workers in other manufacturing industries and are subject to income inequality. There is a need to increase registration of the bidi industry for better administration of taxes and prevention of exploitation of the bidi workers. Skill building and alternative employment could provide better job quality, wages, social security and employment benefits.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.572638/fullemploymentwagesbidiIndiatobacco |
| spellingShingle | Monika Arora Monika Arora Pritam Datta Avnika Barman Praveen Sinha Vineet Gill Munish Deepika Bahl Soumyadeep Bhaumik Gaurang P. Nazar Gaurang P. Nazar Fikru Tullu The Indian Bidi Industry: Trends in Employment and Wage Differentials Frontiers in Public Health employment wages bidi India tobacco |
| title | The Indian Bidi Industry: Trends in Employment and Wage Differentials |
| title_full | The Indian Bidi Industry: Trends in Employment and Wage Differentials |
| title_fullStr | The Indian Bidi Industry: Trends in Employment and Wage Differentials |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Indian Bidi Industry: Trends in Employment and Wage Differentials |
| title_short | The Indian Bidi Industry: Trends in Employment and Wage Differentials |
| title_sort | indian bidi industry trends in employment and wage differentials |
| topic | employment wages bidi India tobacco |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpubh.2020.572638/full |
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