Time Use Survey 2024

• Scope and Purpose: TUS measures time allocation across paid, unpaid, and other activities, providing detailed insights not captured in other household surveys.
  
  

• International Context: India is among the few countries, including Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, the USA, and China, that conduct National Time Use Surveys.
  
  

• Key Data Points: It tracks participation in paid and unpaid activities, including caregiving, volunteer work, domestic services, learning, socialising, leisure, and self-care.
  
  

• Historical Context:

• A century ago, the USSR conducted the first systematic time use survey for industrial workers in 76 families, tracking work, sleep, and rest.

• Using diary entries, the government aimed to identify time spent on housework, which it viewed as "archaic," to reallocate it to collective services.

• Beijing Declaration (1995) called for gender-disaggregated data collection to assess economic participation, leading to wider adoption of time use surveys globally.

• The first all-India TUS was conducted by NSO, MoSPI in 2019, and the second survey was carried out in 2024.

Features of the Survey

• Time Slot Recording: Respondents reported activities in 30-minute slots, with up to three activities recorded per slot if each lasted at least 10 minutes.

• Coverage: The survey covered 1,39,487 households (83,247 rural and 56,240 urban), collecting data from 4,54,192 individuals aged 6 years and above (2,85,389 rural and 1,68,803 urban).

• Data Collection Method: Information was gathered using CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews) with a 24-hour reference period from 4:00 AM on the previous day to 4:00 AM on the interview day.

• Presentation of Estimates: National-level estimates for individuals aged 6 years and above were compiled and presented in the Time Use Survey, 2024 Fact Sheet.

What constitutes Paid and Unpaid Activities? (Box)

• Unpaid Activities:

• Caregiving: Taking care of children, the sick, elderly, and differently-abled persons within the household.

• Household Production: Producing goods and services for own consumption, such as cooking, cleaning, and maintenance.

• Voluntary Work: Engaging in unpaid work for households, market/non-market units, or community services.

• Unpaid Trainee Work: Training or apprenticeship without monetary compensation.

• Other Unpaid Work: Any unpaid activity contributing to the production of goods and services.

• Paid Work:

• Self-Employment: Engaging in entrepreneurial or business activities for income generation.

• Wage/Salary Work: Regular or casual employment for the production of goods and services.

Key Highlights of Time Use Survey, 2024

• Employment Participation: 

• 75% of males and 25% of females (15-59 years) participated in employment-related activities in 2024, up from 70.9% and 21.8%, respectively, in 2019.

• On average, people spent 440 minutes per day on employment and related activities in 2024, with men spending 473 minutes and women 341 minutes.
  
  

• Unpaid Domestic Work: 

• Time spent by females (15-59 years) on unpaid domestic services reduced from 315 minutes in 2019 to 305 minutes in 2024, indicating a shift towards paid work.
  
  

• Caregiving Responsibilities: 

• 41% of females and 21.4% of males (15-59 years) participated in caregiving, with females spending 140 minutes daily compared to 74 minutes for males.

• Own-use Production: 24.6% of the rural population (15-59 years) engaged in producing goods for personal use, spending 121 minutes daily.
  
  

• Learning Activities: 

• Males: 415 minutes in 2024, down from 426 minutes in 2019.

• Females: 413 minutes in 2024, down from 423 minutes in 2019.

• 89.3% of children (6-14 years) participated in learning activities, spending around 413 minutes per day.
  
  

• Leisure and Culture: People (6 years and above) spent 11% of their daily time on cultural, leisure, mass media, and sports activities in 2024, up from 9.9% in 2019.
  
  

• Self-care and Maintenance: Individuals (6 years and above) spent 708 minutes daily on self-care, with females spending 706 minutes and males 710 minutes.

Average time (in minutes) spent in a day per person of age 6 years and above in different activities during Time Use Survey 2019 and 2024.

Analysis of the Time Use Survey (TUS) 2024

• Gender Disparity in Workforce Engagement: While women’s participation in employment has increased, their average daily work time remains significantly lower than men’s, highlighting persistent gender gaps in workforce engagement.
  
  

• Unpaid Domestic and Care Work: Women disproportionately experience time poverty due to excessive unpaid household and caregiving work, whereas men contribute minimally, reinforcing traditional gender roles.
  
  

• Interconnection of Paid and Unpaid Work: The burden of unpaid work limits women’s opportunities for paid employment, as household labour remains undervalued and unequally distributed.
  
  

• Changes in Leisure and Media Consumption: Individuals are spending more time on leisure, mass media, and cultural activities, with a notable increase in rural areas, reflecting shifts in entertainment and information consumption.
  
  

• Decline in Social and Community Engagement: There has been a reduction in time spent on socialising, community participation, and religious activities, indicating changing social dynamics and priorities.
  
  

• Reduction in Self-Care and Maintenance Time: People are dedicating less time to self-care and maintenance, possibly due to increased work and leisure commitments, affecting overall well-being and work-life balance.
  
  

• Enhancing Female Labour Force Participation:
  Implement policies to promote women’s entry into paid employment, including flexible work hours and gender-inclusive workplaces.
  
• Research by the International Monetary Fund estimates that closing the gender gap in labour force participation could increase India’s GDP by 27%
  Investing in Care Infrastructure:
  Increase public and private investment in affordable childcare and eldercare facilities to reduce women's caregiving burden and boost employment in the care economy.
  
• Recognition and Redistribution of Unpaid Work:
  Strengthen social policies that recognise unpaid domestic and caregiving work, such as care economy investments, paid family leave, and shared parental responsibilities.
  
• Skill Development and Empowerment:
  Expand vocational training and digital literacy programmes to facilitate women’s transition from unpaid to paid work, especially in rural areas.
  Develop rural industrial clusters, promote self-help groups (SHGs), and expand service-sector jobs to enhance employment opportunities for women.
  Encourage financial inclusion, provide direct cash transfers, and support women-led cooperatives to increase their control over household expenditure decisions.
• Promoting Gender Equality:
  Implement paid parental leave for both parents, tax incentives for shared caregiving, and awareness campaigns to challenge gender norms.
  
• Improving Learning Outcomes and Educational Access:
  Address the decline in time spent on learning activities by improving school infrastructure, digital learning access, and reducing dropout rates.
  
• Promoting Work-Life Balance and Well-Being:
  Develop policies that ensure adequate leisure, self-care, and mental health support to improve overall well-being.
  
• Strengthening Social Protection Measures:
  Introduce social security benefits for informal sector workers, particularly for women engaged in unpaid household work and caregiving.
  
• Expanding Data Collection and Policy Monitoring:
  Conduct frequent and granular time-use surveys to track trends, assess policy impact, and refine interventions to promote gender equality and economic inclusion.