The gross value of unregistered sector enterprises increased by 9.83% between October 2022 and September 2023: study

New Delhi: The gross value added (GVA) of unlisted sector establishments grew by 9.83 per cent at current price during October 2022-September 2023 as compared to April 2021-March 2022, according to a government survey. According to the annual survey of unlisted sector establishments (ASUSE), the top three states in terms of GVA were Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat in 2021-22 and Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in 2022-23. The total number of establishments in the sector increased from 5.97 crore in 2021-22 to 6.50 crore in 2022-23, representing a 5.88 per cent annual growth, it said.

Among the broad sectors covered by the study, the number of establishments in the other services sector was the highest in ASUSE 2022-23 (37.88 per cent), followed by trade (34.71 per cent) and manufacturing (27.41 per cent). More than 40 per cent of the establishments in this sector are engaged in retail (around 30 per cent) or apparel manufacturing (around 11 per cent), as per the study. Among the major states, the highest number of establishments (rural and urban combined) is located in Uttar Pradesh, followed by West Bengal and Maharashtra.

The non-farm independent sector employed about 11 crore workers between October 2022 and September 2023, as against 9.8 crore in ASUSE 2021-22. More than a third of this workforce was employed in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal. The percentage of women in the workforce increased marginally from 25.52 per cent in ASUSE 2021-22 to 25.63 per cent in ASUSE 2022-23. It was observed that about 54 per cent of proprietorship establishments were managed by women in the manufacturing sector, as per ASUSE 2021-22 and ASUSE 2022-23.

Among the business categories, it was observed that Other Retail Trade followed by Apparel Manufacturing and Other Social and Personal Services reported the highest number of establishments and employed the maximum number of workers at the all-India level. Fixed assets owned by unregistered non-agricultural establishment increased on an average basis from Rs 2,81,013 crore in ASUSE 2021-22 to Rs 3,18,144 crore in ASUSE 2022-23. The use of internet for business purposes increased by 7.2 per cent, indicating the rapid pace of digitization in this sector.

About 54 per cent of proprietary enterprises in the manufacturing sector were run by women entrepreneurs, it was reported. The key findings of the Annual Survey of Unregistered Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) for the reference periods April 2021 to March 2022 (ASUSE 2021-22) and October 2022 to September 2023 (ASUSE 2022-23) in the form of a fact sheet were released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).