LUCKNOW: A pan-India survey is under way since January 2019, the first of its kind in India, to measure an individual’s use of his/ her time, evident in the very term Time User Survey. Conducted by the National Sample Survey Office, it is being carried out in four legs from January to December.

Talking about the survey, chief statistician Pravin Srivastava on Saturday, while inaugurating a seminar on Statistics and Sustainable Development Goals at Lucknow University, said, “While paid activity will straddle business and jobs which accrue income, the survey will be a fountainhead of information on time spent in unpaid ventures, including volunteer work, domestic and household service”.

Conducted by the ministry of statistics, the sampling is being done under two broad outlines — paid and unpaid activity. The second sampling will be particularly significant as it will cater to data on time spent on household work, volunteering, among other activities.

A pilot TUS was first carried out in 1998-99 across six states — Haryana , Madhya Pradesh , Gujarat , Odisha , Kerala and Meghalaya.

It is for the first time the exercise is being carried out across all states.

Srivastava explained the survey will analyse how people spend time. “There is much economic activity from their jobs, but with nuclear families being the trend, couples also spend much time in household work. For instance, cooking and rearing children by women helps men hit the field...”

“But such activities have not been captured or collated till now,” Srivastava said.

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