India’s unincorporated non-agricultural sector witnessed strong growth during the January-March 2026 quarter, with the number of establishments crossing 9 crore and employment rising above 15 crore for the first time, according to the latest quarterly bulletin released by the National Statistics Office.
The Quarterly Bulletin on Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (QBUSE), released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, showed that the estimated number of establishments rose to 9.16 crore during the quarter, marking a year-on-year growth of 16.69 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.
The report said the rural sector emerged as the major driver of growth, recording a 20.46 per cent increase in establishments, while urban areas registered a growth of 12.59 per cent.
Employment in the unincorporated non-agricultural sector reached 15.17 crore during the quarter, registering a year-on-year growth of 15.51 per cent.
According to the bulletin, the services sector played a major role in this expansion. The number of establishments in the unincorporated services sector increased by 24.82 per cent, while employment in the segment grew by more than 31 per cent over the same period last year.
The National Statistics Office said working owners continued to account for the largest share of the workforce, constituting nearly 61 per cent of total workers in the sector.
The bulletin also highlighted rising participation of women in the workforce, with women accounting for around 29 per cent of total employment in the sector during the quarter.
A major shift towards digital adoption was also recorded among enterprises. Around 81 per cent of establishments reported using the internet for entrepreneurial activities, while nearly 81 per cent adopted cashless payment methods such as UPI, online banking and POS-based transactions.
The report further noted that around 41.37 per cent of establishments reported some form of official registration, indicating increasing formalisation of the sector.
The National Statistics Office said the unincorporated non-agricultural sector remains a major contributor to GDP, employment generation and local entrepreneurship.
The quarterly bulletin is part of the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE), launched to provide more frequent and timely estimates on one of the country’s largest economic segments.
The survey covers unincorporated enterprises engaged in manufacturing, trade and services sectors across rural and urban India, excluding agriculture and construction activities.
According to the ministry, data for the survey were collected through Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) using tablets, covering over 1.72 lakh establishments during the January-March 2026 quarter.
