New Delhi, May 7: India’s unincorporated non-agricultural sector recorded strong growth during 2025, with the number of establishments rising to 7.92 crore and employment crossing 12.81 crore workers, according to the latest Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
The survey showed that the sector registered a 7.97 per cent increase in establishments, 6.18 per cent growth in employment and 10.87 per cent rise in Gross Value Added (GVA) during January–December 2025 compared to the previous survey period of October 2023–September 2024.
Officials said the findings reflected resilience and sustained momentum in the country’s unincorporated manufacturing, trade and services sectors, which continue to play a major role in employment generation and economic activity.
According to the survey, the total number of establishments increased from 7.34 crore in 2023-24 to 7.92 crore in 2025. The “Other Services” category recorded the highest growth at 10.29 per cent, followed by manufacturing at 6.48 per cent and trade at 6.18 per cent.
The survey found that nearly half of all establishments were concentrated in three activities — retail trade, manufacturing of wearing apparel and community, social and personal services. Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of establishments, followed by West Bengal and Maharashtra.
Gross Value Added in the sector rose by 10.87 per cent in current prices, led by a sharp 16.77 per cent growth in trade, while manufacturing expanded by 8.52 per cent and services by 7.36 per cent.
The labour market also witnessed significant expansion, with the sector adding more than 74.5 lakh jobs over the previous survey period. More than one-third of the workforce was concentrated in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra.
Women continued to play a major role in the sector. The survey showed that female workers accounted for around 29 per cent of the total workforce, while women headed more than 60 per cent of manufacturing establishments. Around 22 per cent of female workers were engaged in garment manufacturing activities.
The share of female-headed proprietary establishments also rose marginally from 26.17 per cent to 26.93 per cent. Officials said the data reflected growing participation of women as entrepreneurs and workers in the unincorporated economy.
The report also highlighted increasing digital adoption among small businesses. Internet use for entrepreneurial activities rose significantly from 26.68 per cent in the previous survey to 39.37 per cent in 2025. More than half of all trading establishments reported using the internet for business purposes.
Digital adoption was particularly notable in rural areas, where internet usage among enterprises increased from 17.94 per cent to 31.06 per cent. In urban areas, the figure rose from 37.01 per cent to 48.94 per cent.
The survey further indicated improving financial inclusion and capital investment. Average fixed assets per establishment increased from ₹3.24 lakh to ₹3.42 lakh, while more than 80 per cent of outstanding loans were sourced from institutional channels such as commercial banks and government schemes.
MoSPI said the survey covered unincorporated enterprises in manufacturing, trade and services sectors across rural and urban India, excluding agriculture and construction. Data was collected from over 6.7 lakh establishments through computer-assisted personal interviews using tablets.
