Home Based Work in India

Home based work is generally considered to be an economic activity undertaken within the periphery of the producer/workers residence. The range of activities is rather large, home based workers "sew garments, embroider, make lace, roll cigarettes, weave carpets, peel shrimp, prepare food, polish plastic, process insurance claims, edit manuscripts, and assemble artificial flowers, umbrellas, and jewelry " (Prugl, 1999). In fact the range is much larger. Within this rather broad characterization of home based work, a variety of economic relationships are included, from independent production for sale to the consumer, to subcontracting that may be of a horizontal or vertical in nature. Subcontracting itself is mostly of the type where production occurs as per the specifications of the buyer. In home based subcontracting in India, the buyer mostly provides the necessary inputs or credit, but that is not essential. Subcontracting also may be of the vertical type where the buyer is primarily a downstream manufacturer/seller, or horizontal where the buyer is engaged in a similar activity as the home based worker. Home-based workers constituted 20.9 percent of the total non-agricultural workforce i