Explanation:

Let’s break it down:

- Option 1: 4%

A 4% decline would be a marginal shift—barely a change. That’s not what we saw.

- Option 2: 85%

Frankly, that would mean almost everyone stopped being self-employed. That’s not remotely accurate.

- Option 3: 52%

If you’re thinking the share of self-employment in India dropped by half in 2011-12, that’s a huge change. But that’s not what happened according to NSSO data.

- Option 4: 16%

This is actually the correct figure. The share of self-employment dropped from about 56% in 2004-05 to around 50% in 2011-12. That’s roughly a 6 percentage point decline, translating to about 16% in relative terms compared to the earlier figure.

So here’s the answer:

Option 4: 16% is correct.