India’s Small Enterprises See 10% Growth In Employment In 2023-24

As per a government report released on Wednesday, India’s small enterprises recorded a significant 10% growth in employment, reaching 120.6 million in 2023-24, up from 109.6 million the previous year.

Uttar Pradesh led the states and union territories with the highest share of employment at 13.3%, followed by:

• Maharashtra (10.1%),
• West Bengal (10%),
• Gujarat (7.6%), and
• Tamil Nadu (7.3%)

The data comes from the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE), conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) between October 2023 and September 2024.

Unincorporated enterprises are non-agricultural businesses not registered under the Companies Act of 1956 or 2013.

The report showed a 12.7% increase in the number of establishments, which rose to 73.4 million in 2023-24, compared to 65.1 million in 2022-23.

Rural areas had a larger share of these establishments, with 39.7 million compared to 33.7 million in urban areas.

Among the types of establishments, the highest number were in retail trade, followed by manufacturing of wearing apparel.

Uttar Pradesh also led in the number of unincorporated establishments, with a 12.8% share, followed by West Bengal (12.6%) and Maharashtra (8.8%).

The report also highlighted a growth in female-owned businesses, with the share of female-headed proprietary establishments rising to 26.2% from 22.9% in the previous year.

In terms of regional distribution, West Bengal accounted for the largest share of establishments, with 36.4%, followed by:

• Karnataka (35.2%),
• Telangana (34.1%),
• Gujarat (32.2%), and
• Tamil Nadu (28.4%)

The Gross Value Added (GVA) by unincorporated enterprises rose by 16.5%, reaching Rs 18 lakh crore in 2023-24, up from Rs 15.4 lakh crore in the previous year.

Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat together contributed about one-third of the total GVA in the sector.

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