The household industry was defined as an industry conducted by the head of the household himself/herself and/or by the members of the household at home or within the village in rural areas, and only within the precincts of the house where the household lived in urban areas. the larger proportion of workers in a household industry should consist of members of the household including the head. The industry should not be run on the scale of a registered factory.
The main criterion of a household industry was the participation of one or more members of a household. This criterion is applied in urban areas too. Even if the industry was not actually located in the house but was located somewhere within the village limits in the rural areas, there was a greater possibility of the members of the household participating in the industry. In the urban areas where the organized industry was more prominent, the household industry was to be confined to the precincts of the house where the participants lived. In urban areas even if the members of the household themselves ran an industry but at a place away from the precincts of their home, it was not considered a household industry.
The household industry is one that is engaged in the production, processing, servicing, repairing or making and selling (but not merely selling) of goods. It does not include professions such as those practised by a pleader or doctor or barber, musician, dancer, dhobi, astrologer etc. or merely trade or business, even if such professions, trade or services are run at home by members of the household.
