The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) presented the results of the most recent Time Use Survey (TUS) on Tuesday, which showed that people in rural India spend more time on "learning activities" in 2024 than people in urban areas.

The survey also showed that, over the past five years, women have narrowed the gap with men, who are now spending less time on "learning activities." Learning activities include time spent on formal education, such as attending school or university, participating in extracurricular activities, doing homework, and travelling for learning purposes. However, in 2024, the time spent on learning activities decreased in both urban and rural areas compared to 2019. In 2024, people in urban areas spent an average of 87 minutes a day on "learning," down from 95 minutes in 2019. In rural areas, the time spent on learning was 90 minutes a day, compared to 92 minutes in 2019. A gender-wise analysis revealed that the time women spent on "learning" remained the same at 84 minutes over the years. 

However, for men, this time decreased from 102 minutes to 94 minutes in the last five years. In TUS 2024, data on time use was gathered for individuals aged six and above, based on a 24-hour reference period. Respondents reported their activities in 30-minute time slots. If multiple activities were performed in a slot, up to three activities lasting at least 10 minutes each were recorded. The activities reported by the respondents were categorised into nine main divisions. The data also revealed that the time spent on 'Employment and related activities' increased in both urban and rural areas. In urban areas, students spent 199 minutes per day on these activities in 2024, compared to 188 minutes in 2019. Similarly, in rural areas, students spent 171 minutes daily in 2024, up from 153 minutes five years earlier.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) conducted the first nationwide Time Use Survey (TUS) between January and December 2019. The second all-India TUS was carried out after four years, covering the period from January to December 2024. “India is among the few countries, including Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, USA and China that conduct the national TUS to analyse how people allocate their time to various daily activities. The primary objective of the survey is to measure the participation of men and women in paid and unpaid activities,” the ministry said in a statement.