<P> Labour in India refers to employment in the economy of India . In 2012, there were around 487 million workers in India, the second largest after China . Of these over 94 percent work in unincorporated, unorganized enterprises ranging from pushcart vendors to home - based diamond and gem polishing operations . The organised sector includes workers employed by the government, state - owned enterprises and private sector enterprises . In 2008, the organised sector employed 27.5 million workers, of which 17.3 million worked for government or government owned entities . </P> <P> Over 94 percent of India's working population is part of the unorganised sector . In local terms, organised sector or formal sector in India refers to licensed organisations, that is, those who are registered and pay GST . These include the publicly traded companies, incorporated or formally registered entities, corporations, factories, shopping malls, hotels, and large businesses . Unorganised sector, also known as own account enterprises, refers to all unlicensed, self - employed or unregistered economic activity such as owner manned general stores, handicrafts and handloom workers, rural traders, farmers, etc . </P> <P> India's Ministry of Labour, in its 2008 report, classified the unorganised labour in India into four groups . This classification categorized India's unorganised labour force by occupation, nature of employment, specially distressed categories and service categories . The unorganised occupational groups include small and marginal farmers, landless agricultural labourers, sharecroppers, fishermen, those engaged in animal husbandry, beedi rolling, labeling and packing, building and construction workers, leather workers, weavers, artisans, salt workers, workers in brick kilns and stone quarries, workers in saw mills, and workers in oil mills . A separate category based on nature of employment includes attached agricultural labourers, bonded labourers, migrant workers, contract and casual labourers . Another separate category dedicated to distressed unorganised sector includes toddy tappers, scavengers, carriers of head loads, drivers of animal driven vehicles, loaders and unloaders . The last unorganised labour category includes service workers such as midwives, domestic workers, barbers, vegetable and fruit vendors, newspaper vendors, pavement vendors, hand cart operators, and the unorganised retail . </P>

The maximum number of workers are employed in which industry in india