VOLUME - 14, ISSUE - 03, MARCH - 2025 • PRINT ISSN No. 2277 - 8160 • DOI : 10.
36106/gjra
Original Research Paper Economics
“THE ROLE OF INDUSTRIAL WORKERS IN ACHIEVING INCLUSIVE GROWTH:
A SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF BIADA, MUZAFFARPUR”
Research Scholar, University Department of Economics, B.R.A. Bihar
Anupriya University, Muzaffarpur-842001
Assistant Professor, University Department of Economics, B.R.A. Bihar
Dr. Rosy Sulochana University, Muzaffarpur-842001
ABSTRACT Labour force productivity is a cornerstone of economic growth and societal development, serving as a
driving force behind innovation and progress. In India, the vast and diverse workforce plays a pivotal role
in shaping the nation's economy, signicantly contributing to GDP across primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors. Economic
growth, in turn, enhances workers' earnings, consumption, and overall economic activity. This study examines the socio-
economic conditions of industrial workers in the Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority(BIADA) region of Muzaffarpur,
Bihar, focusing on factors inuencing wages and challenges related to working conditions. The study is based on primary data
(conducted in 2024) which constitutes observation, interview and questionnaires collected from the labours, managers and
owner of different industries running under BIADA. The paperis structured into four sections. The socio-economic aspects of
industrial workers of India are examined in the rst section. The study's methodology and indicator selection within the survey
area are described in depth in the second part. Cross-tabulated results are presented in the third section, providing insight into
the living standards, income levels, and workplace difculties of industrial workers. The fourth segment concludes with policy
ideas to enhance industrial workers' quality of life and guarantee their holistic development. By addressing these aspects, the
study aims to contribute to the discourse on labour welfare and its role in driving economic progress in India, with a particular
focus on the underexplored BIADA region in Muzaffarpur.
KEYWORDS : Productivity, Innovation, Workforce, Growth
INTRODUCTION Category-1: Labour as a Driver of Economic Growth
The most crucial factor in any nation's economic progress is Rangarajan et al. (2011) underscore the importance of labour
labour force productivity. Economic growth is driven by a i n c o n t r i b u t i n g t o I n d i a ' s G D P, e m p h a s i z i n g t h e
skilled work force. The labour force is sometimes referred to as interdependence of primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors.
the backbone of society because it is the power behind They argue that industrial workers play a pivotal role in
innovation, advancement, and societal development. The manufacturing and services, forming the backbone of India's
growth of every economic sector depends heavily on the role industrial output. Similarly, Datt and Sundaram (2020)
that labour plays. highlight the inuence of labour productivity on economic
progress, noting that improved wages and working conditions
In the same way that agriculture is the foundation of food can lead to higher economic activity and societal well-being.
production, labour plays a crucial role in the manufacturing
and service sectors of any economy. India's workforce is huge Bosworth and Collins (2008) highlighted that labour
and diversied, making it a valuable asset for our nation. productivity is a key determinant of economic growth in
India's GDP is signicantly inuenced by labour. The emerging economies like India. Their cross-country analysis
economy's primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors all rely emphasized the role of improved skills, education, and
heavily on human labour to do their respective jobs. When the technology adoption in enhancing productivity. Similarly,
economy grows, workers' earnings rise as well, increasing Goldar (2011) studied trends in labour productivity in Indian
their disposable income, consumption, and economic activity. manufacturing, arguing that productivity improvements
In light of this, the present study examines the socio-economic directly correlate with industrial output and GDP growth.
condition of industrial workers in the BIADA area of
Category-2: Socio-Economic Challenges of Industrial
Muzaffarpur, Bihar. It basically attempts to analyse the factors
Workers
inuencing wages of the industrial workers and their
Studies such as those by Sharma and Singh (2019) focus on
problems related to working conditions.For this, the paper is
the socio-economic challenges faced by industrial workers,
divided into four sections. First section highlights the socio-
including low wages, poor working conditions, and
economic aspects of industrial workers and their participation
inadequate access to social security. Banerjee (2020)
in Indian context. Second section focuses on the methodology
identies occupational hazards, lack of healthcare, and job
and choice of indicators within the survey area. Third section insecurity as persistent issues, particularly in unorganized
provides the cross tabulation and ndings related to the sectors. Singh and Kumar (2018) analyze regional disparities
condition of industrial workers and nally the fourth section in the socio-economic status of industrial workers, showing
suggests suitable policy options to ensure and enhance the that labour welfare policies in less-developed regions, such as
holistic development of quality of life of the workers. Bihar, lag behind. Their ndings stress the need for targeted
interventions to reduce inequalities and improve quality of
Section-I: Socio-Economic Conditions of Industrial Workers life. Chakraborty (2015) reviews the theoretical underpinnings
in India: Conceptual Issues of labour studies in India, exploring concepts like "decent
Researches so far have focused on the socio-economic work" and "social inclusion." He argues that addressing the
circumstances of Indian industrial workers, highlighting the socio-economic conditions of industrial workers requires an
vital role that labour plays in both societal and economic integrated approach involving policy reforms, industrial
development. In order to investigate conceptual concerns relations, and worker participation.
pertaining to the socio-economic well-being of industrial
workers, such as wages, working conditions, social security, Category-3: Impact of Policy Measures on Industrial Labour
and labour rights, we can divide the existing literature into Patnaik and Sinha (2021) evaluate the impact of government
three categories: policies like the Minimum Wages Act and labour codes on
66 X GJRA - GLOBAL JOURNAL FOR RESEARCH ANALYSIS
VOLUME - 14, ISSUE - 03, MARCH - 2025 • PRINT ISSN No. 2277 - 8160 • DOI : 10.36106/gjra
industrial workers. While these policies aim to improve wages belongs to SC. Thus, it is found that highest percentage of
and working conditions, the authors contend that their employee belongs to SC and lowest percentage of employee
implementation often remains ineffective, especially in states belongs to General.
with weak institutional frameworks.
Table-2:Category-wise Distribution of Workers (In Years)
The literature reveals that industrial workers in India face Category Frequency Percentage
persistent socio-economic challenges, including wage General 04 8
disparities, inadequate social security, and poor working OBC 14 28
conditions. These issues are compounded by regional SC 32 64
disparities and inconsistent policy implementation.
Total 50 100
Addressing these concerns requires a holistic approach,
integrating labour rights, social welfare measures, and Source: Computed by author from primary survey
industrial policy reforms.
Section-II: Methodology and Choice of Indicators
The study is a cross-section analysis of the socio-economic
conditions ofthe industrial workers pertaining to Bihar
Industrial Area Development Authority (BIADA) of
Muzaffarpur district of Bihar. By encouraging industrial
growth and development in the state, the Bihar Industrial Area
Development Authority (BIADA) plays a crucial role in creating
jobs for labours. It carries out national and state plans for
industrial development, emphasizing industries that create a Chart-1: Percentage of Workers in Different Categories
lot of jobs, such as food processing, textiles, and small-scale
manufacturing. It also promotes entrepreneurship, especially Table-3 given below shows the marital status of workers. Out
programs aimed at women entrepreneurs, by offering of 50 workers, 33 (66%) are married and 17 (34%) are
nancial aid, training courses, and mentorship. Therefore, unmarried. Thus, it can be seen that most of the workers are
Muzaffarpur district is selected as a sample district in the state married.
of Bihar.
Table-3: Marital Status & Type Of Family Of Workers
Since the study is based on primary data (conducted in 2024), Marital Status % Type of Family %
it constitutes observation, interview and questionnaires Married 66 Nuclear 22
collected from thelabours, managers and owner of different
Unmarried 34 Joint 78
industries running under BIADA. Data has been collected
through well-structured interview schedule, which covering Source: Computed by author from primary survey
the indicators regarding worker's nature of employment,
wage, saving patterns, and debt position. Besides this, The data reveals that 78% workers are living in joint family
secondary data pertaining to the study have also been and only 22% living in nuclear family. Thus, most of the
collected from the concerned Government Ofces studies, workers are living in joint family as they are poor and there
books and journals. nancial capacity is not as good as to manage separate
house.
The indicators chosen under study basically related to the
income, standard of living, employment and economic Table-4 and Chart-2 given below show the educational
entitlement of the labour working in BIADA region. Over fty qualications of workers. Out of 50 workers, 12 are illiterate,
industries and thousands of workers (approx.) are working in 18 are below SSC, 14 are SSC, 6 are HSC . Hence, it can be
the BIADA industries. Out of them, 50 sample workers have inferred that maximum workers (36%) are Below SSC.
been randomly selected for the present study.
Table-4: Educational Qualication of Workers
Section-III: Cross-Tabulation and Findings Category Frequency Percentage
It is clear from table-1 that among the 50 members all four Illiterate 12 24
categories of industries, 32%of workers belong to 20-25 age Below SSC 18 36
group, 28%of workers belong to 25-30 age group, 22%age SSC 14 28
group belong to 30-35 age group and 12% of age group HSC 06 12
belong to 35-40 age group and 06% of age group belong to 40- Graduate 00 00
45 . Thus, it could be inferred that the age category (32%) 20-25 Total 50 100
age group workers are larger in number among the sample
Source: Computed by author from primary survey
industries.
Table-1:Age-wise Distribution of Industrial Workers (In
Years)
Age group Frequency Percentage (%)
20-25 16 32
25-30 14 28
30-35 11 22
35-40 06 12
40-45 03 06
Total 50 100 Chart-2: Educational Qualication of Workers
Source: Computed by author from primary survey
Table-5 shows the number of family members residing with
Table-2 and corresponding Chart-1 depicts the distribution of workers working in BIADA industry of Muzaffarpur district. Out
workers according to their category. 8% employee belongs to of 50 workers, 8% of workers reside with 1-3 members in their
General, 28 %employee belongs to OBC, 64%employee family, 22% of workers are living with 3-5 family members, 70%
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VOLUME - 14, ISSUE - 03, MARCH - 2025 • PRINT ISSN No. 2277 - 8160 • DOI : 10.36106/gjra
are living with 5-7 members in their family. Thus, most of the inspections, compliance audits, and sanctions for infractions
workers are living with 5-7 family members in their family. should be put in place. Increasing social security coverage
under programs can protect employees from unemployment,
Table-5: Number Of Family Members old age, and medical issues. Accessibility can be increased
No. of members Frequency Percentage(%) through streamlined registration procedures and awareness-
1-3 04 8 raising initiatives. Implementing skill-building initiatives that
3-5 11 22 are suited to business demands will improve employees'
5-7 35 70 employability and job happiness. The skill gap can be closed
Total 50 100 through collaborations with nearby businesses and
educational institutions.
Source: Computed by author from primary survey
CONCLUSION
Table-6 shows the combined family income and expenditure Adopting policies that prioritize worker welfare and equitable
of workers. Out of 50 workers; 9 (18%) workers has overall growth is essential to addressing the problems that industrial
family income between Rs. 10000-15000; 20 (40%) has income workers face. Building an inclusive and effective workforce
ranging from Rs. 15000-20000; 12 (24%) has income ranging requires investments in infrastructure, healthcare, and
from Rs. 20000-25000; 09 (18%) has income ranging from Rs. education. Implementing policies effectively and conducting
25000-30000. Thus, most of the workers' combined family regular assessments are essential to guaranteeing that these
income per month is between Rs. 15000-2000. actions result in noticeable enhancements in the quality of life
for employees.The BIADA area can increase labour
Table-6: Combined Monthly Income, Expenditure & Savings productivity and support the state of Bihar's and the
of Family Muzaffarpur district's overall economic growth by placing a
Income (%) Expenditure (%) Saving (%) high priority on the comprehensive development of industrial
10000-15000 18 8000-12000 12 0-1000 48 workers. This strategy will protect workers' rights and dignity
15000-20000 40 12000-16000 58 1000-2000 24 while promoting sustainable industrial development.
20000-25000 24 16000-20000 18 2000-3000 28
25000-30000 18 20000-24000 12 Above 3000 0 Declaration
Source: Computed by author from primary survey The authors hereby declare that the present paper is an
original work and has not been published or submitted for
As per the above table, out of 50 workers; 12% of workers publication elsewhere. All sources utilized have been
spend between Rs. 8000-12000, 58% of workers spend appropriately acknowledged, and the content of this paper is
between Rs. 12000-16000, 18% of workers spend between Rs. the sole intellectual contribution of the authors.
16000-20000 and remaining 12% of workers spend between
Rs. 20000-24000. REFERENCES
1. Banerjee, R. (2020). Occupational Hazards and Health Concerns of Industrial
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The above table also shows the monthly household savings of 2. Bosworth, B., & Collins, S. M. (2008). "Accounting for Growth: Comparing
workers. Out of 50 workers, 48% of workers save below Rs. China and India." Journal of Economic Perspectives, 22(1), 45-66.
1000, 24% of workers save between Rs. 1000-2000,whereas the 3. Chakraborty, S. (2015). Labour Studies in India: A Conceptual Framework.
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workersare unmarried (34%). 260.
Ÿ Educational Status of workers shows that most of the
workers are literate but their educational level is below
SSC i.e.(36%) while no workers were found graduate.
Ÿ The analysis based on types of family revealed that most
of the workers are living in a joint family i.e.(78%) while
only 22%are living in nuclear family.
Ÿ 70% workers are living in a family that consists of 5to7
members.
Ÿ Most of the workers (40%) are earning lies Rs. 15000-20000
while 58% of them spend between Rs. 12000-16000.
Ÿ The monthly savings of most of the workers(28%) shows
that their savings lies between Rs. 2000-3000.
Section-IV: Policy Implications
In the BIADA region of Muzaffarpur, improving the socio-
economic circumstances of industrial workers necessitates a
multifaceted strategy that takes into account social security,
wages, working conditions, and skill development. To
guarantee equitable remuneration, the Minimum Wages Act
must be implemented and properly enforced. Extra rewards,
like bonuses based on performance, can inspire employees
and boost output. It is imperative that occupational health and
safety regulations be strictly enforced.
To guarantee safe and sanitary working conditions, regular
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