India has proposed changes to ​its employment survey to sharpen data on ‌gig workers and include unpaid household jobs, ​the statistics ministry said on Friday.

The ⁠revisions come amid a debate over whether official jobs data reflects underemployment and quality of jobs ‌in the world's most populous country, where the headline unemployment stands at ‌5%.

While changes to surveys affect comparisons ‌with ⁠past data, India is aiming to ⁠tweak how it defines and measures employment while expanding the ambit of the survey.

Labour economist K.R. Shyam ​Sundar called the ‌changes "half a step," saying many workers operate outside digital platforms. However, he said that measuring unpaid work could eventually prompt changes in ‌how national income is calculated.

Key changes ​proposed in the survey include:

* The changes will kick in ⁠from January 2027, with fresh samples for 2027-28

* The survey will add a separate ‌category for digital platform workers as the existing method did not capture enough platform workers

* Fresh data will reflect urbanisation, changes in district boundaries and creation, splitting or merger of administrative units

* Data will better ‌represent population changes and reduce operational difficulties

* The survey ​will ask rural and urban households if members are engaged in digital ⁠platform work

* Survey will add queries about "own-use ⁠production" of goods, unpaid household work, caregiving, volunteer work and unpaid trainee work

* ‌The government has invited public and expert feedback on the proposals within 15 ​days

Published on October 23, 2026