India is a vast country with a surface area of about 3.3 million square km.  Total population of India according to Census 2001 1) was 1.025 billion.  About 72% of the population lives in rural area.  India is a developing nation and presents the demographic features similar to the other developing nations of the world.  Growing population is the major concern of the government and is considered as the principal obstacle to the economic growth of the country.  Emerging occupational health problems are to be tackled along with the existing traditional public health problems like communicable diseases, malnutrition, poor environmental sanitation and inadequate medical care.  Globalization and rapid industrial growth (about 7% annual economic growth) in the last few years have further complicated the occupational health related issues.Employment status Census report is the major source of reliable information on employment and related issues.  The general census in India is carried out every 10 yr.  The information provided in this communication is based on the census reports of 2001.Table 1 depicts the status of active employment in 2001according to sex and the area of economic activities1).

Agriculture (cultivators i.e. land owners+ agriculture labourers) is the main occupation in India giving employment to about 58% of the people.  This is in contrast to the industrialized nations, like USA and Western Europe where the employment in the agricultural sector is between 4 and 12%.  Similarly, the proportion of employment in manufacturing and service sector is much lower in Indiacompared to other developing nations.  Along with the increase in population, there is an increase of about 28% male workers and 45% female workers from 1991 to 2001. This relative increase female workers is observed in all the economic activities.  The proportion of male:female working population which was 78:22 in 1991 was 68:32 in 2001. This increase working female population leads to certain concerns.  For example, when exposed to occupational hazards, women of reproductive age are susceptible to specific adverse effects on reproduction, like abortions and malformations of the foetus from exposure to toxic chemicals in the work place.  Moreover, female workers often suffer from musculoskeletal disorders because neither the tasks nor the equipment they use, which is normally designed for men, are adapted to their built and physiology.  In addition, female workers have specific stress-related disorders, resulting from job discrimination (such as lower salaries and less decision-making), a double burden of work (workplace and home) and sexual harassment.