India is, as we all know, an agricultural country. Despite this, urban areas generate the majority of India’s GDP. Because of the concentration of capital in urban areas, there are a variety of job opportunities in these areas. In India, there are about 5,000 towns and twenty-seven significant cities. More than a million people live and work in major cities, including Chennai and Mumbai. Let’s consider the various types of urban livelihoods in India

Urban Livelihoods:

Street workers: 

• A large number of people labour on the streets of the city. They usually sell, repair, or provide  services to people.
• They are self-employed and must plan their schedules.
• Their shops are usually makeshift buildings, consisting of a few boards or papers strewn across abandoned boxes and the like.

Issues with the Street Workers: 

• They are unprotected.
• There are some city areas where hawkers are not permitted to operate.
• Vending on the street is regarded solely as a traffic and pedestrian hazard.
• Since they work on streets, they may also live and sleep on roads or near drainage system. This can make the living conditions extremely unhygienic.
• They may not even have access to clean bathrooms and lack sanitation facilities.

Ways to improve their condition:

• Street vending is increasingly acknowledged as a universal benefit and a right of people to earn a living thanks to the work of several organizations.
• The government can change the law prohibiting street sellers from working and providing them with workspace.
• For towns and cities, hawking zones have been proposed.
• According to some, mobile sellers should also be permitted to roam around freely.
• Hawkers must be included in committees that make these and other decisions affecting them.

Business persons: 

• Many people own stores, which are small or enormous, and sell various goods.
• The majority of business owners own their stores or businesses.
• They employ several supervisors and assistance as well.
• These are permanent shops that the city government has granted a business licence to.
• Many business people also have their own small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs)

Daily Wage Labourers: 

They assist masons at construction sites,to lift goods, and dig pipelines

Casual basis:  Workers are expected to show up when needed.

Reasons for Small and factories employing casual workers:

• When employers receive huge orders or at certain seasons, they are hired.
• They must find other work at other periods of the year.

Working conditions of Casual workers:

• They aren’t meant to last.
• No job security: If employees express dissatisfaction with their pay or working circumstances, they are asked to leave.
• If there is ill-treatment, there is no employment protection.
• They are also expected to work for long periods. Workers at the fabric mill units, for example, perform 12-hour shifts that alternate between day and night.

Benefits of Permanent workers:

• Job security: They can anticipate keeping their current job for a long time.
• Savings for retirement: A portion of their salary is put into a government-run fund that pays them interest on their savings, which they can utilize after they retire.
• Holidays: They have regular days off during the week, national holidays, and yearly leave.
• Medical facilities for families: Companies pay for medical expenses for their employees’ families up to a specified sum.