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@article{187771,
        author = {Dr. Nandini Shivasharanappa},
        title = {Transformations in Urban Indian Family Patterns: Emergence of Nuclear and Solo-Living Households},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2025},
        volume = {12},
        number = {6},
        pages = {6510-6515},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=187771},
        abstract = {This paper examines recent transformations in urban Indian family patterns, focusing on the growing predominance of nuclear households and the gradual emergence of solo-living (one-person) households. Drawing on Census of India data, National Family Health Survey (NFHS) findings, the India Human Development Survey (IHDS), and recent sociological literature, the article analyses structural shifts, underlying drivers, and social implications. Census 2011 data indicate that nuclear families constitute around 70% of all households in India, with nuclear forms particularly common in urban areas, while extended and joint households together account for only about one-fifth of households. Simultaneously, one-person households, though still a small share (around 3.7% in 2011), are growing, especially in cities and among specific groups such as young migrants and older adults. The paper argues that these changes are shaped by rapid urbanisation, rising education and female employment, middle-class expansion, housing market dynamics, and shifting aspirations around individual autonomy, privacy, and consumption. At the same time, the analysis cautions against simplistic narratives of “decline” of the joint family, showing instead the persistence of intergenerational ties, supported nuclear and “supplemented nuclear” forms, and translocal family arrangements. The article concludes by discussing implications for care work, ageing, gender relations, and social policy, suggesting the need to rethink family support systems, urban planning, and welfare architectures in an era where urban nuclear and solo-living households are increasingly visible but unequally resourced.},
        keywords = {Urban India; family change; nuclear households; solo living; one-person households; middle class; care.},
        month = {November},
        }