According to a recent survey by the statistics office, the usage of the internet for business purposes, whether making UPI payments or placing online orders, has increased to 13.5 per cent from 7.7 per cent in rural areas and to 30.2 per cent from 21.6 per cent in urban areas during 2022-23.
This marks an overall increase of 7.2 percentage points, highlighting the rapid embrace of digital payment methods in the informal sector.
The MoSPI survey, as reported by TOI, also revealed that 25.6 per cent of the total workforce in 2022-23 were female. Women workers constituted 31 per cent of the workforce in units operating without any hired workers on a regular basis.
Additionally, 54 per cent of proprietary establishments in the manufacturing sector were led by women entrepreneurs, emphasizing the significant role of women in the informal sector.
The informal sector was severely impacted by the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, with a decline in the number of units and workers. However, a gradual recovery began after the July quarter of 2021, as indicated by earlier survey results released last month.
TNNThe total number of establishments in the unincorporated sector rose from nearly 6 crore in 2021-22 to 6.5 crore in 2022-23, an increase of approximately 5.9 per cent. Among the major sectors, the “other services” segment had the largest share in 2022-23 at 37.9 per cent, followed by trade at 34.7 per cent and manufacturing at 27.4 per cent.
Retail trade accounted for more than 40 per cent of the establishments in this sector, with around 30per cent engaged in retail and approximately 11per cent in apparel manufacturing during 2022-23. Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of establishments (both rural and urban combined), followed by West Bengal and Maharashtra for both 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Fixed assets owned by unincorporated non-agricultural establishments increased from Rs 2,81,013 in 2021-22 to Rs 3,18,144 in 2022-23, indicating improved capital investment in the sector. Additionally, outstanding loans per establishment rose from Rs 37,408 in 2021-22 to Rs 50,138 in 2022-23, reflecting better access to loans in this sector.
The key findings of the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) for 2021-22 and 2022-23 were released in a factsheet by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on June 14, with detailed results now unveiled.
(With TOI inputs)
