UP, West Bengal, Maharashtra had highest share of informal sector enterprises in 2022-23

The decline is mainly due to the 32% fall in premium income underwritten by state-owned Agriculture Insurance Company (AIC) to Rs 9,890 crore during FY24 from Rs 14,619 crore a year ago, according to data released by the General Insurance Council.

Among the major states, Uttar Pradesh recorded a 13.83 per cent share of informal sector enterprises in 2022-23

Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Maharashtra had the highest share of informal sector enterprises in both rural and urban areas in 2022-23, the latest Annual Survey of Unincorporated Enterprises for 2022-23 released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed. While the share of informal sector enterprises decreased in the post-pandemic year 2022-23 for some states such as Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, the state of Uttar Pradesh topped among major states with an increase in the number of unincorporated non-agricultural enterprises.

Among the major states, Uttar Pradesh recorded a 13.83 per cent share of informal sector enterprises in 2022-23, that is, October 2022 – September 2023, up from 12.99 per cent in the previous year. West Bengal, which followed at second position in 2022-23, saw a marginal dip in its share of informal sector enterprises to 12.04 per cent from 12.31 per cent in 2021-22, while Maharashtra’s share rose to 9.37 per cent from 8.81 per cent during the same period.

While comparison with the previous data of National Sample Survey’s 73rd round on Unincorporated Enterprises for 2015-16 showed a decline in workers employed in states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal in 2022-23, the share of informal sector workers increased in most states in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic compared with 2021-22.

UP, West Bengal, Maharashtra had highest share of informal sector enterprises in 2022-23

In 2022-23, informal sector workers declined to 1.57 crore in Uttar Pradesh from 1.65 crore in 2015-16 but rose from 1.30 crore in 2021-22. West Bengal also saw a decline in informal sector workers to 1.05 crore in 2022-23 from 1.35 crore in 2015-16, but the number increased marginally from 1.02 crore in 2021-22. Maharashtra, however, recorded an increase in informal sector workers throughout this period rising to 1.15 crore in 2022-23 from 91.23 lakh in 2015-16 and 98.81 lakh in 2021-22.

State-wise data for unincorporated enterprises revealed that the lowest share of informal sector enterprises was recorded in Uttarakhand, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir. However, Delhi’s share of informal sector enterprises saw a sharp jump from the previous year, rising to 1.43 per cent in 2022-23 from 0.64 per cent in 2021-22.

The surveys for the unincorporated sector enterprises have been released after a long gap after the data collection. The data for these non-agricultural sector enterprises is seen as a crucial indicator as the informal sector is closely watched for its employment generation capacity and absorption of labour force, especially in case of a slowdown in the formal sector.

In 2022-23, over 10.96 crore workers were employed in the unincorporated non-agricultural sector including working owners, hired workers, unpaid family members involved in the establishments and others. Out of the total workers, 5.72 crore were from urban areas, whereas rural workers stood at 5.24 crore. In comparison, about 9.79 crore workers were employed in the unincorporated non-agricultural sector during 2021-22. Out of these workers, 5.03 crore workers were from urban areas and 4.76 crore workers were from rural areas.

Live Updates | Click here for Union Budget 2024 announcements by FM Nirmala Sitharaman | New Income Tax changes announced - check here

Aanchal Magazine

Aanchal Magazine is Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and reports on the macro economy and fiscal policy, with a special focus on economic science, labour trends, taxation and revenue metrics. With over 12 years of newsroom experience, she has also reported in detail on macroeconomic data such as trends and policy actions related to inflation, GDP growth and fiscal arithmetic. Interested in the history of her homeland, Kashmir, she likes to read about its culture and tradition in her spare time, along with trying to map the journeys of displacement from there. ... Read More

First uploaded on: 08-07-2024 at 04:10 IST

Kalki 2898 AD box office collection day 27: Director Nag Ashwin’s film starring Prabhas and Deepika Padukone has so far earned Rs 620 crore mark in the domestic market.

Kalki 2898 AD collection day 27: Prabhas film just Rs 20 cr away from passing Jawan record

EntertainmentJuly 24, 2024 09:08 IST

Kalki 2898 AD continues to dominate the box office and has crossed the Rs 620 crore mark in India. While it has surpassed SRK's Pathaan globally to become the sixth highest-grossing Indian film, it may not surpass Jawan's worldwide gross of Rs 1,160 crore. However, the Prabhas-starrer is now just Rs 20 crore away from overtaking the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer’s lifetime India nett collection.

View all shorts

Live Blog