Solution

It refers to the distribution of workforces among the different sectors of an economy. The following points define India’s occupational structure at the time of pre-independence:

1. India was primarily an agrarian economy, which consisted of more than 75 % of the population involved in agriculture as a source of sustenance, while the rest was divided among the manufacturing and service sectors. The less number of people in the manufacturing and industrial sectors were due to the tough competition they got from cheap goods from Britain which was machine-made. Britain imposed a high tariff on export, thereby restricting the growth of industries. Hence, industries did not contribute well to the GDP of India.

2. India witnessed regional variation in occupational structure, it was seen that in states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and cities like Bombay had experienced more concentration of work in production and manufacturing while states like Punjab, Orissa and Rajasthan had more population that was shifting towards agriculture.