Number of non-agricultural enterprises increases by 13% to 7.3 billion: government survey

NEW DELHI: Citing its annual survey of non-corporate enterprises for the period October 2023 to October 2023, the Union Ministry of Statistics has said that the country’s It announced that the number of non-agricultural enterprises increased by 12.84% to 7.34 billion enterprises. September 2024.

The ministry said in a statement that the 2023-24 Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises highlights “significant growth in unincorporated sector establishments, employment and productivity,” and that the 2023-24 Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Businesses highlights “significant growth in unincorporated sector establishments, employment and productivity” and has seen a rise in pandemic-related challenges. He said that this shows a recovery. It will come back with new vigor.

Many of the businesses targeted are sole traders, such as small independent shops, but they also include partnerships and self-help groups. V. Ananta Nageswaran, chief economic advisor to the government, who was present at the statistics ministry’s presentation, said the term “unincorporated” does not mean “unofficial”.

Saurabh Garg, secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, said the year-on-year increase in the number of enterprises in 2023-24 is “very healthy growth”.

According to the study, manufacturing accounted for just over a fifth of these companies’ gross value added, and trade accounted for just over a third. Other services accounted for 44% of total value added.

These companies employed 12 million people during the survey period, almost 10% more than the 10.9 million people employed in the previous annual survey period. This reflects “strong growth in the labor market,” the ministry said.

The proportion of privately owned facilities run by women jumped from nearly 23% in 2022-23 to 26.2% in 2023-24, indicating “positive changes in women’s participation in management,” the ministry said. said.

Compared to 7.34 billion non-agricultural, non-corporate enterprises, the number of enterprises incorporated as companies in India is low at 17.9 million, indicating that the majority of enterprises are small.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Statistics, there were 5.97 billion business establishments in India during the 2021-2022 survey period. However, this is less than the 6.3 billion non-agricultural unincorporated enterprises reported in the 73rd National Sample Survey conducted in 2015-2016.

A person familiar with the studies told Mint that both studies used the same methodology. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity, said coronavirus-related shocks could be the reason for the difference between the two numbers.

The results of this survey were announced at a time when the local economy is improving, with motorcycle sales reported to have increased by 14% from the same period last year to 1.32 billion units from April to November this year.

The average remuneration per employed worker will also increase by 13% in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23, indicating an improvement in wage levels, the ministry said.

“This wage increase acts as a catalyst, strengthening the labor market, increasing productivity and driving broader economic demand. Manufacturing has seen the highest growth in this indicator, with was just over 16%,” the ministry said.