Top-50 districts account for 1/3rd of unregistered biz entities, workforce, gross value addition: Govt survey

Top-50 districts, ranked by the number of unincorporated establishments, account for nearly one-third of such entities, the workforce and the country's annual output in Gross Value Added (GVA), a government survey released on Thursday showed.

National Statistics Office (NSO) released its district-level estimates based on a nation-wide enterprise survey for the first time, marking a significant step towards strengthening granular sub-state-level statistics in India.

It showed that roughly one-third of districts have more than one lakh unincorporated establishments.

In 237 districts, women constitute one-third of the total workforce in the unincorporated sector, it stated.

In 280 districts, GVA per worker exceeds the all-India average, indicating relatively higher levels of economic productivity in these districts, the survey showed.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has already published, for the first time, a comprehensive statistical profile of the unincorporated sector across the country's 46 million-plus cities, identified based on Census 2011.

The top-10 districts, ranked by the estimated number of unincorporated establishments, together account for about one-tenth of the total establishments, workers and GVA generated by the sector, while the top-50 districts capture nearly one-third of the total establishments, workforce and GVA.

The top-10 districts are spread across four states: Gujarat, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, while the top 50 districts are spread across 12 states, viz. Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The district-level distribution further reveals considerable variation in the scale of the unincorporated sector across the country. Roughly one-third of all districts have more than one lakh unincorporated establishments, while about 9 per cent of the districts have fewer than 10,000 establishments.

Only 16 districts (eight from West Bengal, three from Maharashtra, two from Gujarat, one each from Karnataka, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh) have more than 5 lakh unincorporated establishments per district.

The estimate also highlights variations in the productivity performance of the unincorporated sector.

In about 331 districts, GVA per worker is estimated to be between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh.

In 280 districts, GVA per worker exceeds the all-India average (Rs 1,56,539), indicating relatively higher levels of economic productivity in these districts.

The district-level estimates reveal significant regional patterns in terms of female entrepreneurship.

The top-10 districts with the highest share of female-led unincorporated establishments are located in Telangana, Manipur and Meghalaya.

In Mizoram, female-owned proprietary establishments account for at least 50 per cent of establishments in each district.

A similar pattern is observed in the participation of women in the workforce. Top-ten districts with the highest share of female workers are located in Telangana, Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram, reflecting the significant role played by women in the unincorporated sector in these states.

In 237 districts, women constitute one-third of the total workforce in the unincorporated sector, whereas in 25 districts female workers constitute more than 50 per cent of the workforce.

The survey covers the rural and urban areas, except some of the villages in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are difficult to access.

Sector-wise, the survey captures unincorporated non-agricultural establishments belonging to manufacturing, trade and other services.

Ownership-wise, unincorporated non-agricultural establishments pertaining to proprietorship, partnership (excluding Limited Liability Partnerships), co-operatives, societies/trusts, etc. have been covered in the survey.

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