MoSPI to start annual unincorporated sector enterprises survey from April 2027

New Delhi: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday said that the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2027-28 will be conducted from April 2027 to March 2028, aligning the study period with the financial year.

The survey will feature new policy-focused questions for better understanding of the unincorporated sector, a ministry statement said.

According to the statement, the gender-specific constraints faced by female entrepreneurs will be captured for the first time.


A new question was added in the survey to better understand the investment trajectory of establishments.

The survey is accommodating the requirements of stakeholder Ministries and other data users in the survey to ensure that the ASUSE framework remains relevant, accurate, and responsive to the dynamic structure of the unincorporated sector.

Following the approach adopted in the previous surveys, the sample design for ASUSE 2027-28 has provision for the generation of district-level estimates by the participating States.

The unincorporated non-agricultural sector constitutes an important segment of the Indian economy.

It contributes significantly to employment and gross value added, provides livelihoods to a large number of people and supports economic activity through its linkages with the incorporated sector.

The National Statistics Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), has been conducting the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) since 2021-22 to generate comprehensive statistical information on this important segment of the economy.

The survey provides information on the characteristics and economic operations of unincorporated establishments and contributes to the availability of data for economic analysis, policy formulation and national accounting purposes.

During the ongoing ASUSE 2026, suggestions and data requirements have also been received from stakeholders through different forums.

These inputs, together with NSO's internal assessment of the survey requirements, have led to the proposed changes in the schedule for ASUSE 2027-28.

The proposed changes seek to improve the policy relevance of the survey while retaining its role as a key source of official statistics on the unincorporated non-agricultural sector.

For the first time, questions will be introduced to capture gender-specific constraints faced by female entrepreneurs in operating and managing their establishments.

These questions aim to improve the availability of information on the challenges women entrepreneurs face in the unincorporated sector.

Additional questions will be included to capture the different sources of electricity used by establishments.

This will provide a more comprehensive picture of the energy-use patterns of enterprises in the unincorporated sector.

A new question will be introduced to capture investment in fixed assets over a longer reference period than that covered in the existing schedule.

This change is intended to provide a broader perspective on the investment trajectory of establishments.

The handloom and handicraft sector sits at the intersection of India's unincorporated economy and traditional knowledge systems, and the availability of precise, granular and actionable data is indispensable for evidence-based policymaking for this sector.

In this context, at the request of the Ministry of Textiles, two questions will be included to identify handloom, power-loom and handicraft establishments. The proposed questions are intended to facilitate the identification of establishments engaged in these activities within the survey framework.

Taken together, these changes are intended to enhance the policy orientation of ASUSE and improve its responsiveness to the information needs of different Ministries and other data users.

In an important change to the survey calendar, the survey period for ASUSE is being shifted from the calendar year (January-December) to the financial year (April-March). Accordingly, ASUSE 2027-28 is proposed to be conducted from April 2027 to March 2028.

The change is intended to align the reference period of the survey with the financial year, as is done in other enterprise surveys like Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises (ASISSE), etc. and enhance the utility of ASUSE data for National Accounts purposes.

Financial-year alignment is expected to facilitate the use of survey information in conjunction with other economic statistics compiled on a financial-year basis.

The transition has been planned to ensure continuity in the generation of quarterly estimates. To avoid a break in the quarterly estimates for January-March 2027, the survey will also be conducted during this quarter using the existing ASUSE 2026 schedule.

Thereafter, the new survey cycle will commence in April 2027 under ASUSE 2027-28.

This arrangement is intended to facilitate the transition to the revised survey calendar while preserving continuity in the quarterly statistical series.

Comments and suggestions on the proposed schedule may be sent in the prescribed format to nssocpd.coord@mospi.gov.in and tc.dpd@mospi.gov.in by 15th November 2026.