As per the definition of Census of India, a ‘marginal worker’ is a person who works for:

Correct — B. The Census of India sorts workers by how long they worked in the reference year. A person who worked for less than six months, that is fewer than 183 days, is a marginal worker.

A person who worked for six months or more is a main worker, and a person who did no such work is a non-worker. The 183-day line is the only thing separating the two worker categories.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  more than 183 days (or six months) in a year — More than 183 days defines the main worker, the category on the other side of the same line. The stem asks for the marginal one.
• (c)
  eight months in a year — Eight months sits well above the six-month cut-off, so it describes a main worker. The Census draws its line at six months, not at eight.
• (d)
  83 days in a year — 83 days is 183 with a digit dropped. The Census states the threshold as 183 days, so a definition built on 83 days is not the Census definition.

The Census counts a person as a worker for any economically productive activity, paid or unpaid. Helping on the family farm counts even when no wage changes hands.

Having counted workers, it splits them by duration. Main worker means six months or more of such work in the reference year, marginal worker means less than six months, and a non-worker did none.

The split matters because a large marginal share signals seasonal and underemployed work rather than steady employment.

Key facts

• A marginal worker in the Census of India worked for less than six months, or fewer than 183 days, in the reference year.
• A main worker worked for six months or more in the reference year.
• Work in the Census sense includes unpaid work on a family farm or in a family enterprise.

Common traps

• Reading more than 183 days as marginal because marginal is heard as a large casual workload.
• Assuming pay decides the category when the Census counts only days worked.

No directly related past PYQ was found.