The Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) offers a window into small businesses, including informal establishments. These are survey estimates, not a census of all MSMEs or a measure of individual profitability.
How are businesses doing across industries?
The National Statistics Office’s ASUSE 2025 release compares January–December 2025 with October 2023–September 2024. The survey estimated 7.92 crore establishments, up 7.97%, and 12.81 crore workers, up 6.18%.
| Activity | Change in estimated establishments | Change in gross value added |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 6.48% | 8.52% |
| Trade | 6.18% | 16.77% |
| Other services | 10.29% | 7.36% |
Gross value added changes are in current prices, so inflation is included; they do not establish changes in real output or profits. Survey periods differ and are not consecutive calendar years. Growing counts do not mean every business is thriving.
What do state patterns show?
In ASUSE 2025, Uttar Pradesh had the most estimated establishments among major states, followed by West Bengal and Maharashtra. Together those three accounted for more than one-third of workers in the covered sector. These are absolute totals, not rates per resident or measures of business success.
The 2023–24 survey highlights reported shares of estimated establishments of 12.8% in Uttar Pradesh, 12.6% in West Bengal and 8.8% in Maharashtra. These percentages refer to the earlier survey, not 2025.
Women, rural access and digital use
In 2025 female proprietors headed 60.43% of manufacturing establishments in the survey; women made up about 29% of the covered workforce overall. Internet use for business was 31.06% in rural and 48.94% in urban establishments. These are different measures and populations, not evidence that women own 60% of all MSMEs. See market access.
How to use these figures
ASUSE covers unincorporated non-agricultural manufacturing, trade and other services, excluding construction, incorporated companies and certain other units. It uses a sample, so estimates have uncertainty. A national or state aggregate cannot predict demand in your district; talk to buyers and examine local competitors before investing. For granular data, consult the MoSPI data catalogue. Sources checked 28 October 2026.