MoSPI to Start Annual Unincorporated Sector Enterprises Survey from April 2027

The MoSPI has made some modifications to the ASUSE, wherein the ASUSE for 2027–28 will take place between April 2027 and March 2028. The ASUSE, which will be undertaken by the NSO, will have some new questions added to the survey pertaining to women entrepreneurs, enterprise investment, electricity use and traditional industries. Also, there is a change in the framework of the survey, as it moves from being a calendar-based survey to a financial-based survey to bring more coherence with other official statistics.

What Is ASUSE?

Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) is a statistical survey that has been conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO) of the MoSPI annually since 2021–22. It has been collecting data related to the nature and economic functioning of unincorporated enterprises of India.

The survey is carried out in the unincorporated non-agricultural sector excluding construction. The information provided through this survey helps in economic analysis, policymaking and national accounts.

Proposed Major Changes to ASUSE 2027-28

The revised survey instrument will contain a number of questions that will help fill up information gaps and make the official statistics more relevant.

Proposed change	Purpose
Gender-specific constraints	Revealing difficulties encountered by women entrepreneurs in running and managing the establishment for the first time
Sources of electricity	Knowing the various sources of electricity employed by enterprises
Investment in fixed assets	Capturing the investment over a larger reference period
Handloom, power-loom and handicraft establishments	Detecting these activities in line with the requirement of the Ministry of Textiles
Financial year survey cycle	Making the survey cycle of ASUSE in tune with those of other enterprise surveys and thus increasing the usefulness of ASUSE in respect of National Accounts
Estimates at district level	Maintaining provisions for participating States to produce district level estimates

These are some of the proposed changes.

Why is This Survey Focused on Women Entrepreneurs?

For the very first time, ASUSE is planning to ask questions regarding the gender-related obstacles that women entrepreneurs face while operating their businesses.

It could prove to be an invaluable tool for research and policy-making purposes, as well as allow for more informed discussion concerning women’s involvement in economic activities and creation of policies related to women’s enterprises.

This survey will seek to gather information related to the obstacles, but the questions raised in this survey should not be taken as findings related to the size and nature of the obstacle problem.

Better Data on Investment, Electricity, and Traditional Industries

Investment in fixed capital: A new question will cover investment in a longer reference period than the one currently in the schedule. It is hoped that this will give us better knowledge about the investment practices of unincorporated firms.

Sources of electricity: Two new questions will gather information on different sources of electricity that the establishment uses. This would help in forming a better idea of their energy consumption practices and operational characteristics.

Handloom, power loom, and handicrafts: As per the recommendation of the Ministry of Textiles, two new questions will enable identification of establishments practicing these trades.

Why Is ASUSE Adopting the Financial Year?

So far, ASUSE has followed a survey period of the calendar year, starting from January and ending in December. Starting from 2027–28, the revised period would be of the financial year, from April to March.

The new schedule would bring about synchronisation of the ASUSE along with other enterprise surveys, such as,

Annual Survey of Industries (ASI)
Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises (ASISSE)

It is expected that the synchronization would make it convenient to integrate ASUSE data with other economic data compiled in the financial year, thereby making it more useful for National Accounts.