Types of Economic Activities

Class 6 Social Science · Chapter 13: The Value of Work · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 13.1

Learn

Rohan spends his holidays at his uncle's home in a village. A new bridge is being built nearby, and his uncle drives a crane there. He is paid a salary every month. His aunt works at the village health centre, also on a monthly salary, and in the evenings she gives tuition to students, charging a fee for each month of classes.

At a nearby orchard, Rohan meets a farm worker ploughing with a tractor. He earns a wage for each day of work, partly in cash and partly in guavas of equal value. Payment in goods instead of money is called payment in kind. The orchard owner sells guavas at the market and earns a profit.

All these are economic activities: activities that earn money or produce goods and services that can be exchanged for money. People who work for others earn salaries or wages; people who run their own business or offer a service are self-employed and earn profits or fees.

But many activities are non-economic: done out of love, care, duty or for the good of others, without payment. Rohan's grandmother cooks for the family, tells stories and looks after the youngest children. His uncle helps neighbours repair their roof on Sunday. The same activity, like cooking, can be economic (a paid cook in a restaurant) or non-economic (cooking for your family).

Explore: how is each person paid?

1. Sort each card.
2. Now sort these activities: economic or non-economic?

Remember

• Economic activities earn money: salaries (monthly), wages (daily), fees (for services), profit (business), or payment in kind.
• Non-economic activities are done out of love, care or service, without payment.

Quick check

A farm worker paid partly in guavas receives …

1. payment in kind
2. a salary
3. a fee
4. a pension

Think about it

On your way to school, which economic activities do you see? How might those people be paid?

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.