Fifty districts drive a third of the informal economy, women lead the way in 25; GVA per worker exceeds all-India average of Rs 1.6 lakh in 280 districts

New Delhi: Fifty districts across India including Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh account for nearly one-third of total establishments and gross value added (GVA) generated by unincorporated enterprises, the statistics ministry report released Thursday showed.

GVA per worker exceeds the all-India average of ₹1.6 lakh in 280 districts, "indicating relatively higher levels of economic productivity in these districts", the ministry said in a statement. Among these are Mahe in Puducherry at ₹24.8 lakh, Satara in Maharashtra (₹ 8.7 lakh), Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab (₹4.9 lakh), Tonk in Rajasthan (₹4.5 lakh), Dehradun in Uttarakhand (₹3.9 lakh), and Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu (₹3.2 lakh).

In 331 districts, GVA per worker is estimated at between ₹1-1.5 lakh.

The report provides district-level estimates for 757 of the 770 districts included in the sampling frame used for the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2025.

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Unincorporated enterprises are non-agricultural establishments that are not registered under the Companies Act, 1956 or the Companies Act, 2013. This is the first time the ministry has released district-level estimates for the sector.

About one-third of all districts have over one lakh unincorporated establishments each, while around 9% 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 five lakh unincorporated establishments per district.

Women account for more than half of the ownership of unincorporated establishments in 25 districts. Nirmal in Telangana has the highest share, at 80%, followed by Jagtial in Telangana at 74.6%, Imphal East in Manipur at 71.7%, and Nizamabad in Telangana at 71.3%.

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

A similar pattern is evident in women's participation in the workforce. Women account for one-third of the workforce in the unincorporated sector in 237 districts. In 25 districts, they make up more than half of the total 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," the ministry said.