Outlining the key characteristics of the care economy, discuss how India can better integrate the value of unpaid and underpaid care work into its economic framework.

Economy and Empathy leads to Care duty. Key characteristics of care economy include: mostly unpaid, incurred as domestic responsibility by women, outside formal sector, not counted as part of value-addition, viewed as an inferior or less-paying vocation, lack of government support or scheme for care workers, low-level of skilling, absence of social security.

Steps to integrate value of unpaid and underpaid care work into economic frameworks include: Measurement - what cannot be measured cannot be managed. Making suitable changes to Economic Census and General Census. Mothers' Dividend - paying mothers a monthly basic income for unpaid domestic care. Scheme - introducing a MGNREGS-type urban employment guarantee scheme for care work. Include care work in MGNREGS. Skilling - opening dedicated colleges to impart care-work courses. Policy - bringing out a 'domestic dothes care workers' policy prescribing minimum wage and maximum working hours. Social Security - establishing a 'gig workers' type SS Fund for care workers. Technology - using online market to match supply and demand for care work. Evidence within OPIC. Thus integrating care work into economic framework will give dignity to care workers and produce a more accurate measure of GDP.