Memorize the grim demographic statistics of the era and understand the regional shifts in occupational structure.
Literacy, mortality, and life expectancy rates.
During the colonial period, India's social development indicators were deeply alarming, reflecting extensive poverty and a widespread lack of basic facilities.
Visual summary of health and literacy stats.

A stark comparison showing the grim health and education indicators during the British colonial period.
Recall the exact numbers.
Various details about the population of British India were first collected through a census in . The year is regarded as the defining year to mark the demographic transition from its first to the second decisive stage. The various social development indicators were not quite encouraging, as the overall literacy level was less than per cent. Furthermore, public health facilities were highly inadequate, leading to rampant water and air-borne diseases. As a result of these poor conditions, life expectancy was also very low at just years, in contrast to the present 70 years.
Where did Indians work?
During the colonial period, India's occupational structure—the distribution of working persons across different industries—showed very little overall change.
Visualizing sector sizes and regional changes.

While the nation relied heavily on agriculture, different regions began experiencing divergent shifts in their workforce structure.
Test understanding of occupational shifts.
During the colonial period, which group of regions witnessed an INCREASE in the share of their workforce dependent on the agricultural sector?