Statistical business register in works to keep track of all companies

The government plans to launch a statistical business register to track the opening and closing of businesses by the end of 2025, two people familiar with the matter told ET.

The register will also create a framework for the economic census and business surveys.

It will encompass all enterprises across states in India and capture the number of establishments active or closed. It will also avoid duplication of efforts when the economic census is conducted.


"The register will provide a framework for the economic census, which will further be used for surveys, such as the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) and the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE)," said an official.

The idea is to impart more accuracy in the surveys and reduce errors, while making the data more robust. The register will also ensure that any information required about businesses and enterprises in the country is available at one place and is updated at regular intervals, the official said. The initiative will also help gauge sectoral performance and assist in gross domestic product (GDP) calculations.

The United Nations Statistics Division recommends the implementation of a statistical business register, which has been adopted by more than 60% of developing countries.

Although the register was initially supposed to be established during the sixth economic census, its creation was delayed as some states failed to prepare it. It was also proposed for the seventh economic census, results of which were delayed due to quality concerns.

Another official said it will be updated at a certain frequency, either quarterly or semi-annually.

The ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI) plans to use multiple data sources for the register and has already identified a few.

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), ministry of corporate affairs' database, goods and services tax (GST) data and database for micro, small and medium enterprises will be used for the exercise, the second official said.

"We have received sample data from a few agencies and we are actively working on it," the official said.

MoSPI will later widen the data sources to make the register more robust. "There is a huge database that is available and we are in discussions with ministries to provide it," the official said.

Economic census
The ministry has already begun the work on the economic census, the first official said, adding that it will be conducted this year.

The census will capture the number of establishments engaged in agricultural and non-agricultural activities across all states in India.