Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)
- Context: The report, first introduced in 2017, is released by the National Statistics Office under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
- From 2025, the survey timeline has been changed from the agricultural year (July–June) to the calendar year (January–December), along with revisions in methodology.
PLFS Report
- The Periodic Labour Force Survey is intended to measure key labour market indicators such as the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR), Worker Population Ratio (WPR), and Unemployment Rate (UR).
These are calculated using both
- Usual Status (principal + subsidiary activity over a year)
- Current Weekly Status (CWS) (based on the last 7 days)
Key Indicators
- LFPR: Proportion of people who are either employed or actively seeking/available for work within the population.
- WPR: Share of the population that is currently employed.
- UR: Percentage of unemployed individuals among those in the labour force.
Activity Status Definitions
- Usual Status: Determined based on a reference period of the previous 365 days.
- CWS: Determined based on the previous 7 days before the survey.
Major Findings of the Report
LFPR
- For individuals aged 15 years and above, LFPR stood at 59.3%, with male participation at 79.1% and female participation at 40%.
- Among males, the main reason for not joining the labour force was continuing education (69.8%), while for females, household responsibilities such as childcare were the primary reason (44.4%).
WPR
- The overall Worker Population Ratio for those aged 15+ was 57.4%, with 76.6% for males and 38.8% for females.
UR
- The unemployment rate for persons aged 15 and above was 3.1%, with rural areas at 2.4% and urban areas at 4.8%.
Self-Employment Trend
- The proportion of self-employed individuals has slightly decreased from 58.2% in 2023 to 56.2% in 2025.
Sector-wise Employment
- Agriculture continues to employ the largest share of the workforce, although its proportion declined from 44.8% in 2024 to 43% in 2025.
Maternal Mortality Rate in India
- Context: A report published in The Lancet: Obstetrics, Gynaecology and Women’s Health journal states that the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) in India has declined by 80 percent over the past 33 years.
Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR)
- Maternal death refers to the death of a mother during pregnancy, during childbirth, or within 42 days following delivery.
- The Maternal Mortality Rate represents the number of maternal deaths occurring per 100,000 live births during a specific period.
MMR in India According to The Lancet Report
- India’s Maternal Mortality Rate has decreased from 508 in 1990 to 116 in 2023.
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- Approximately 24,700 mothers died in the year 2023.
- According to the Sample Registration System (SRS) data for the 2021–2023 period, the Maternal Mortality Rate stands at 88.
- A recent report released by the UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Group indicates that the Maternal Mortality Rate in India has declined by 86 percent since 1990, whereas the global decline stands at 48 percent.
Global MMR According to The Lancet Report
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- In 2023, approximately 240,000 mothers died globally.
- Nigeria recorded the highest number of maternal deaths, with 32,900 fatalities.
- Ethiopia and Pakistan recorded 11,900 and 10,300 maternal deaths, respectively.
- Globally, the maternal mortality rate (MMR) declined from 321 in 1990 to 190.5 in 2023.
- Under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a target has been set to reduce the maternal mortality rate to 70 by 2030.
- It is estimated that India has a high probability of achieving this 2030 target.
Tamil Nadu MMR
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- Tamil Nadu ranks first in the country in terms of the number of safe deliveries conducted in government hospitals.
- As a result of these efforts, the Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) has declined to 35 per 100,000 live births.
- The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) has also declined to 12 per 1,000 live births.
- Both these figures are significantly lower than the national average.
