Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

@article{206881,
        author = {S.NITHYA LAKSHMI},
        title = {Unseen Workforce, Unfulfilled Laws: Regulatory Blind Spots and the Governance Vacuum in India’s Informal Agricultural Economy.},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {2},
        pages = {3016-3024},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=206881},
        abstract = {Most of the Indian agriculture industry has hidden but still very important informal labourers, who have neither regulation nor proper enforcement of the same. This paper critically examines the gaps within the governance structure, extending to tenant farmers, migrant workers, women farmers and seasonal wage labourers, the informal farming class, who are largely excluded from the formal system. Structural informality, lack of documentation and institutional accountability remain a challenge in the implementation of labour rights, social security and rural welfare systems in the agricultural sector in an uneven manner. The research concluded that this opacity of the workforce was related to a “systemic failure” in the governance system, related to poor governance of the policy-making process, overlapping governance positions and outdated definitions of legal frameworks. 
It also examines the aggravation of vulnerabilities like wage-exploitation, absence of social security, gender disparities and limited access to grievance redressal processes. In the broader context of sustainable development and economic justice, this paper explores judgments, policies and on-the-ground experience to highlight the essential importance of a holistic legal framework that respects the rights of the stakeholder for informal agricultural workers.
The last part of the study is a list of numerous recommendations for change regarding the governance shortfall. They encompass well-coordinated welfare networks, decentralized approaches to welfare enforcement, digital inclusion to identify its users, and formal recognition processes. To ensure inclusive development in the evolving farm landscape of India, strengthen the resilience of rural households, and ensure dignity of the labour, it is crucial to address these blind spots.
Rural economy, gender inequality, migrant labour, sustainable development, informal agricultural employment, regulatory blind spots, governance vacuum, social security and labour rights.},
        keywords = {},
        month = {July},
        }