FORMAL AND INFORMAL SECTOR: CAUSES CONSEQUENCES AND GOVERNMENT MEASURES IN SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

“Formal and Informal Sector in India -Causes Consequences and Policy framework in socio-economic development” is an endeavor of the Research Wing of Siliguri College of Commerce Siliguri to get an insight about the emerging issues faced by the formal and informal sector in India. As a developing economy India has grown in GDP terms since 2005 and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world as of now overtaking the GDP of Great Britain in 2022. Apart from her satisfactory growth in terms of formal planning the size and magnitude of India’s informal sector is something which is a concern for both researchers and planners. Large informal clusters in metro cities of Argentina Brazil and Mexico as well as in emerging metros like Surat Siliguri Bhopal and Vijaywada may thwart any comprehensive planning premises of a welfare state. There are issues of livelihoods and educational attainments if the informal base is large and operate beyond the spectrum of Government initiatives. The vulnerabilities of the migrant workers the livelihoods of small traders and the literacy attainments of the school going children enrolled in low cost public schools were severely impacted when India was closed down for almost 187 days in 2020-2022 during the COVID crisis.