Total factories in India grew by 2% in 2018-19

NEW DELHI: The ministry of statistics and programme implementation released the provisional data of the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) for 2018-19, which shows that the number of factories grew 2% in the year to 242,395.

This is the biggest increase since 2014-15, when the number of factories grew 2.6%. To be sure, this growth rate is still not as big as in the decade before. The average growth rate from 2004-05 to 2013-14 was 6%.

ASI data is the most important source of industrial statistics of the registered organised manufacturing sector of the economy. The ASI covers all factories registered under Sections 2m(i) and 2m(ii) of the Factories Act, 1948 i.e. those factories employing 10 or more workers using power; and those employing 20 or more workers without using power.

The top three industries by gross value added (GVA) in the year were basic metals, chemicals and chemical products, and the manufacturing of motor vehicles, trailers, and semi-trailers.

They had a share of 30% in the total GVA of ASI industries. These figures can’t be compared with previous years because they need to be adjusted for inflation. The share of these three industries in total ASI employment, however, was just 19.2%.

The top three states by GVA were Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Tamil Nadu. They had a share of 41% in the total GVA. Rural India added nearly as much GVA (49%) as urban India (51%).