1. Introduction

Time Use Survey (TUS) provides a framework for measuring time dispositions by the population on different activities. It is an important source of information about the activities that are performed by the population and the time duration for which such activities are performed. One distinguishing feature of the Time Use Survey from other household surveys is that it can capture time disposition on different aspects of human activities, be it paid, unpaid or other activities with such details which is not possible in other surveys.

India is among the few countries, including Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, USA and China that conduct the National Time Use Survey to analyze how people allocate their time to various daily activities. The primary objective of the Survey is to measure the participation of men and women in paid and unpaid activities. TUS is an important source of information on the time spent in unpaid caregiving activities, volunteer work, and unpaid domestic service-producing activities of the household members. It also provides information on time spent on learning, socializing, leisure activities, self-care activities, etc., by the household members.

The National Statistics Office (NSO), MoSPI conducted the first all-India Time Use Survey during January – December 2019. The present TUS conducted during January – December 2024 is the second such All-India Survey.

2. Key Highlights of the Results of Time Use Survey, 2024 (TUS, 2024):

• During 2024, 75 percent of the males and 25 per cent of the females in the age group 15-59 years, participated in employment and related activities during the reference period of 24 hours. Such participation was 70.9 percent for males and 21.8 percent for females in the age group 15-59 years during 2019.
• Female participants aged 15-59 years in unpaid domestic services spent about 315 minutes during 2019 in those activities, which has come down to 305 minutes during 2024 signifying the shift from unpaid to paid activities.
• 41 per cent of females aged 15-59 years participated in caregiving for their household members, male participation in this age group in such caregiving was 21.4 per cent. Also, female participants in caregiving activities spent about 140 minutes in a day, compared to 74 minutes spent by male participants aged 15-59 years. This corroborates the Indian social fabric wherein most of the caregiving responsibilities for household members are borne by the females of the household.
• 24.6 per cent of the rural population aged 15-59 years participated in producing goods for own final use and they spent 121 minutes a day doing such activities.
• 89.3 per cent of children aged 6-14 years participated in learning activities and they spent around 413 minutes in a day for such activities.
• People aged 6 years and above spent 11 per cent of their days’ time in culture, leisure, mass media and sports practices during 2024, compared to 9.9 per cent of the days’ time spent during 2019.
• 708 minutes in a day was spent on self-care and maintenance activities by persons aged 6 years and above. Females of this age group spent 706 minutes while males spent 710 minutes in such activities.

3. Features of the Survey

In TUS, 2024, respondents were asked about their activities performed in the designated time slots of 30 minutes and the same was recorded against the corresponding slot. In case of multiple activities in a time slot, a maximum of three activities which were performed for 10 minutes or more, were recorded. Information on time use was collected for persons aged 6 years and above with a reference period of 24 hours.

1. Coverage: This survey covered 1,39,487 households (rural: 83,247 and urban: 56,240). Information on time use was collected from each member of age 6 years and above of the selected households. This survey enumerated 4,54,192 persons aged 6 years and above (rural: 2,85,389 and urban: 1,68,803).
2. Data Collection:  In this survey data on time use was collected through CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews). Information on time use was collected with a reference period of 24 hours starting from 4:00 AM on the day before the date of the interview to 4:00 AM on the day of the interview
3. Presentation of the estimates: All-India level estimates for persons of age 6 years and above, obtained from the Time Use Survey, 2024, have been presented in the Fact Sheet.

 

Major Indicators: The major indicators generated from TUS, 2024 are described here.

• PARTICIPATION RATE: Participation rate in a day in any activity is calculated as the percentage of persons performing that activity during the day.
• AVERAGE TIME SPENT IN A DAY PER PARTICIPANT: The average time spent in a day per participant for any activity is calculated by considering those who participated in the activity. Estimates of average time in a day in different activities derived by considering only the participants in the activities are referred to as average time spent in a day per participant.

 

• AVERAGE TIME SPENT IN A DAY PER PERSON: The average time spent in a day per person for any activity is calculated by considering all the persons irrespective of whether they participated in the activity or not. By this approach, the distribution of the total time of 1440 minutes of a day per person in different activities is derived.

4. The key findings of the TUS 2024 are given in the Statements annexed while the Fact Sheet is accessible at https://mospi.gov.in.

 

Key Findings of the Survey

 

Table 1: Percentage of persons of age 6 years and above participating in different activities in a day all-India
Description of the activity	sector			gender
	rural	urban	rural+urban	male	female	person
Employment and related activities	41.1	40.5	40.9	60.8	20.7	40.9
Production of goods for own final use	21.6	6.2	16.8	13.0	20.7	16.8
Unpaid      domestic      services      for household members	54.2	53.9	54.1	27.1	81.5	54.1
Unpaid     caregiving      services     for household members	26.5	24.5	25.9	17.9	34.0	25.9
Unpaid volunteer, trainee and other unpaid work	1.0	1.1	1.0	0.9	1.1	1.0
Learning	21.7	20.7	21.4	22.6	20.2	21.4
Socializing      and      communication, community         participation         and religious practice	90.1	90.8	90.3	89.8	90.7	90.3
Culture, leisure, mass-media and sports practices	91.8	95.8	93.0	95.3	90.7	93.0
Self-care and maintenance	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Note: The estimates have been calculated considering all the activities in a time slot

 

Table 2: Average time (in minutes) spent in a day per participant of age 6 years and above in different activities all-India
Description of the activity		sector						gender
		rural		urban		rural+urban		male		female		person
Employment and related activities		417		490		440		473		341		440
Production of goods for own final use		123		64		116		137		104		116
Unpaid       domestic       services       for household members		241		232		238		88		289		238
Unpaid      caregiving      services      for household members		115		117		116		75		137		116
Unpaid volunteer, trainee and other unpaid work		121		123		122		139		108		122
Learning		413		419		414		415		413		414
Socializing and communication, community participation and religious practice		142		131		138		138		139		138
Culture, leisure, mass-media and sports practices		165		183		171		177		164		171
Self-care and maintenance		711		701		708		710		706		708
Note: The estimates have been calculated considering all the activities in a time slot
Table 3: Percentage share of total time in different activities in a day per person of age 6 years and above   all-India
Description of the activity	sector						gender
	rural		urban		rural+urban		male		female		person
Employment         and         related activities	11.9		13.8		12.5		19.9		4.9		12.5
Production of goods for own final use	1.9		0.3		1.4		1.3		1.5		1.4
Unpaid domestic services for household members	9.1		8.7		9.0		1.7		16.4		9.0
Unpaid caregiving services for household members	2.1		2.0		2.1		0.9		3.3		2.1
Unpaid volunteer, trainee and other unpaid work	0.1		0.1		0.1		0.1		0.1		0.1
Learning	6.3		6.0		6.2		6.5		5.8		6.2
Socializing and communication, community      participation      and religious practice	8.9		8.3		8.7		8.6		8.8		8.7
Culture, leisure, mass-media and sports practices	10.5		12.2		11.0		11.7		10.3		11.0
Self-care and maintenance	49.4		48.7		49.2		49.3		49.0		49.2
Total	100.0		100.0		100.0		100.0		100.0		100.0
Note: (i) The estimates have been calculated considering all the activities in a time slot (ii) Figures may not add up to 100 due to rounding off.

 

*******

Samrat

(Release ID: 2106113) Visitor Counter : 641