This paper is part of a research project undertaken at ICRIER and supported by the Ford Foundation to generate and disseminate information on the quantity and quality of employment in India. I would like to thank the Ford Foundation for funding this study, especially Srinivasan Iyer for his support. I am extremely grateful to Prof Ajit Ghose and Prof R Nagaraj for their valuable comments and suggestions. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to P.P. Krishnapriya for useful inputs. Surbhi Ghai, Raavi Aggarwal and Serene Vaid provided research assistance.
