New Delhi: The National Statistics Office (NSO) has for the first time released district-level estimates of India’s unincorporated non-agricultural sector, providing a granular picture of establishments, employment, women’s participation and economic productivity across districts.
The report, based on the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2025, covers 757 of the 770 districts available in the sampling frame at the time of the survey. It marks the first time the NSO has disseminated district-level estimates from a large-scale nationwide survey.
Top 50 Districts Drive Nearly One-Third of Sector Activity
The data shows a significant concentration of unincorporated economic activity across districts.
- The top 10 districts account for about one-tenth of the sector’s establishments, workforce and Gross Value Added (GVA).
- The top 50 districts together account for nearly one-third of establishments, workers and GVA.
- The top 50 districts are spread across 12 states, including Gujarat, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan and Bihar.
- Roughly one-third of districts have more than one lakh unincorporated establishments each.
- Around 9% of districts have fewer than 10,000 establishments.
- Only 16 districts have more than five lakh unincorporated establishments each.
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The top 10 districts by number of establishments are located across Gujarat, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Women Form One-Third of Workforce in 237 Districts
The district-level estimates also provide insights into women’s participation in the unincorporated sector.
According to the report:
- Women constitute at least one-third of the workforce in 237 districts.
- In 25 districts, women account for more than half of the workforce.
- The 10 districts with the highest shares of female workers are located in Telangana, Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram.
- Mizoram recorded a particularly high level of female ownership, with women-owned proprietary establishments accounting for at least 50% of establishments in every district of the state.
280 Districts Record Above-Average GVA Per Worker
The report also highlights substantial differences in economic productivity across districts.
In 280 districts, GVA per worker was higher than the all-India average of ₹1,56,539. Another 331 districts recorded GVA per worker between ₹1 lakh and ₹1.5 lakh.
The district-level indicators cover:
- Number of establishments and workers
- Ownership and employment structure
- Women’s participation
- Registration status
- Emoluments per hired worker
- GVA per establishment
- GVA per worker
District-Level Data to Support Targeted Policymaking
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) said granular sub-state statistics can help identify regional variations, emerging strengths and areas requiring policy attention.
The report therefore provides a district-level view of the scale, structure and economic performance of India’s unincorporated non-agricultural sector, including million-plus cities located within respective districts.
The ASUSE covers unincorporated establishments in manufacturing, trade and other services, including proprietorships, partnerships, cooperatives, societies and trusts. The 2025 survey collected data from 6,70,289 establishments across 24,153 surveyed first-stage units.
Delhi District Estimates Not Available
The report does not provide district-level estimates for Delhi. Due to the capital’s relatively small rural population and limited number of villages, its districts were combined into a single stratum for sampling in both rural and urban areas, preventing the generation of district-level estimates.
MoSPI has cautioned that the district-level estimates are based on sample survey data and should be interpreted with regard to regional characteristics and sampling variability.
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