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Female Education and Workforce Participation (PLFS 2017–18 to 2023–24): Evidence from the U-Shaped Worker Population Ratio in India

Since the introduction of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), India's female labour force participation rate (LFPR) has risen sharply from 23.3 per cent in 2017-18 to 41.7 per cent by 2023-24. LFPR counts women who are either working or actively looking for work. This article looks at a related but different number: the Worker Population Ratio (WPR), which counts only women who are actually employed. WPR is the number PLFS publishes broken down by education level, and it answers the question that matters most for policy, not whether a woman is looking for work, but whether she has found it.

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Jammu and Kashmir Disaster Management Plan 2022-23

The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is characterized by a unique and complex topography, ranging from the high-altitude Himalayan valleys to the Pir Panjal range. While geographically distinct, this position makes the region exceptionally vulnerable to diverse natural and human-induced hazards. The territory is classified primarily under Seismic Zones IV and V, signifying a very high risk of high-intensity earthquakes. Historically, J&K has been scarred by devastating events, including the 2005 Waltengu Nad snowstorm that claimed over 175 lives, the October 2005 earthquake that killed approximately 1,350 people in the UT, and the September 2014 floods, which resulted in nearly 460 deaths and billions of dollars in infrastructure damage (NOAA).

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Circularity in Urban Water: Assessing the Success of Reuse and Rejuvenation under AMRUT 2.0

Policy UpdateAmrutha Lahari Kolluru Introduction A decade in, the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) has significantly changed the landscape of water supply, sewage and septage treatment, storm water drainage and green parks and spaces in India. The…

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From Voluntary to Mandatory: India’s Industrial Emission Intensity Rules (2025)

For over a decade, India's principal industrial energy-efficiency instrument was the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme, a rolling, cycle-based mechanism administered by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) under the Ministry of Power. PAT set legally binding specific energy consumption (SEC) reduction targets for Designated Consumers under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, and functioned as a market-based compliance mechanism: overachievers earned tradable Energy Saving Certificates (ESCerts), traded on the Indian Energy Exchange at market-determined prices (roughly ₹200–1,200 per certificate in PAT Cycle I) (Sarangi, 2021) while underachievers were required to purchase ESCerts to cover their shortfall or face financial penalties under the Act.

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From MGNREGA to VB-GRAM-G

For twenty-one years, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), 2005 gave every rural household a legal entitlement to 100 days of unskilled work a year. Its funding was generous to states: the Centre covered full unskilled wages and 75% of material costs, leaving states only a quarter of materials, plus administration and unemployment allowance.

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