The All India Time Use Survey – 2019

Context: India’s first Pan India time use survey- 2019, was released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in early October.

Background: The all India Time Use Survey, 2019 has just been published by the National Statistical Office. It is a first of its kind covering the entire country. It provides a framework for measuring time dispositions by the population on different activities. The primary objective is to measure participation of men and women in paid and unpaid activities.

The all India Time Use Survey is an important source of information on the time spent in unpaid care-giving activities, volunteer work, unpaid domestic service producing activities of the household members. It also provides information on time spent on learning, socializing, leisure activities, self-care activities etc, by the family members.

Time Use Surveys

Time use survey measures the amount of time people spend doing various activities, such as paid work, childcare, volunteering, and socialising. The primary objective of a time use survey (TUS) is to measure participation of men and women in paid and unpaid activities.

TUS is an important source of information on the time spent in unpaid caregiving activities, volunteer work, unpaid domestic service producing activities of the household members.

It also provides information on time spent on learning, socialising, leisure activities, self-care activities. The findings of these surveys are deemed to be helpful in drafting policies on poverty, gender equity and human development.

Global Experiment

In the last three decades, a number of developed countries have been conducting time use surveys with increasing frequency. The United States has been doing one annually since 2003. Australia conducted its first full-scale national survey in 1992, Canada has been doing it since 1961. Germany, Austria, and Israel have also conducted these surveys.

The present report by NSS, whose findings were revealed, is the first such pan India survey conducted. It is a sample survey conducted between January and December 2019 in which 1.39 lakh households across the country and 4.47 lakh persons over the age of 6 were enumerated.

Key Findings

The survey report provides data on the participation rate of Indians in different activities in a day and the average time they spend in those activities. However, it does not provide the reasons for why people participate in certain activities, and why they spend as much time as they do in conducting that activity.

Survey, point to the fact that while the large chunk of paid work is done by men, unpaid work is largely done by women.

The participation rate of men in paid employment, which includes jobs, farming, fishing, mining amongst other economic activities is high at 57.3 per cent, compared to women whose participation rate is only 18.4 per cent. Indian men also spend more time at paid work, spending on average 7 hours 39 minutes compared to the 5 hours 33 minutes spent by women.

However, when it comes to unpaid work like domestic services for household members which includes cooking food, cleaning, or unpaid caregiving like looking after a dependent child or an adult, the participation of women is very high.

The participation rate of men in domestic services is low at 26.1 per cent, and the amount of time they spend conducting this service is far lesser than women, who spend around 1 hour 37 minutes while conducting this activity.

Employment Related Activities

The survey measures the participation rate and time spent on paid activities, care activities, unpaid activities, etc. As per the study, 57.3 percent males were engaged in employment and related activities while the proportion was 18.4 per cent for females in the country.

In the rural areas, the proportion of women engaged in employment and related activities was higher at 19.2 per cent compared to 16.7 percent in cities.

The proportion of males above the age of six years engaged in gainful employment or related activities was higher in cities at 59.8 per cent in cities compared 56.1 per cent in rural areas.

Under-payment of Female Labour

Overall 53.2 percent of participants in the survey were engaged in unpaid domestic services for household members. The proportion of females in the category was higher at 81.2 per cent compared to 26.1 per cent for males. The proportion of females engaged in unpaid domestic services for household members in rural areas was higher at 82.1 per cent compared to 79.2 per cent in cities.

Socio-cultural Activities

As much as 91.3 per cent people went for socializing and communication, community participation and religious practice. The proportion of people who opted for culture, leisure, mass-media and sports practices was 86.9 percent in the country. It also showed that people utilise 50.4 per cent of total time of 1440 minutes in a day on self-care and maintenance followed by 11.4 per cent on employment and related activities.

Conclusion

The primary objective of Time use survey is to measure participation of men and women in paid and unpaid activities. It is an important source of information on the time spent in unpaid caregiving activities, volunteer work, unpaid domestic service producing activities of the household members.

It also provides information on time spent on learning, socializing, leisure activities, self-care activities, etc., by the household members. This survey covered 1,38,799 households (rural: 82,897 and urban: 55,902). Information on time use was collected from each member of age 6 years and above of the selected households.

Connecting the Article

Question for Prelims : With reference to the recently published report on Time Use Survey, 2019, consider the following statements:

1. It is first of its kind conducted by the National Statistical Office on national level.
2. It provides a framework for measuring time dispositions by the population on different activities.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Question for Mains : The Time Use Survey, report says that 91.4 per cent of men participated in social activities, spending two hours and 27 minutes each day. The participation rate for women is just a little less at 91.3 per cent, and they also spend less time compared to men, at two hours and 19 minutes. In the light of the statement, evaluate the role played by the women in the social and economic activities, in the context of India.