Stats ministry to tap GSTN, MCA, Udyam portal to launch business register

India may finally get a business register after more than a decade

The statistics ministry is looking to leverage data from the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), the ministry of corporate affairs (MCA) and the Udyam portal of the micro, small medium enterprises ministry  to create a register to track the shutting down and opening of businesses in the country.

The a first of its kind outside the Economic Census is expected to help track the changes in the country's business environment.

“The ministry is in the process of tapping GSTN, MCA and MSME portals to create a statistical business register; we are also looking at ways we can update this at a faster frequency,” a person aware of the developments said.

The ministry is looking at options of quarterly and half-yearly updation and is targeting to launch it by the end of the year.

At present, data on opening and shutting of businesses is disaggregated. In a recent reply in the Rajya Sabha, the government said 35,567 MSMEs shut shop in 2024-25.

The statistical business register will also help cross-verify data for the upcoming Economic Census, which is to begin next month. The exercise entails states forming committees at the district and state levels to collect information on all enterprises operating within the boundaries of the country.

The Economic Census collects information on the operations of all enterprises and also forms the basis for further business surveys that are conducted by the ministry such as the Annual Survey of Industries, which tracks registered manufacturing enterprises, the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises for companies that are not registered and the Annual Survey of Service Sector Enterprises.

India’s last Economic Census, for which results are available, was conducted in 2013. The seventh economic census, which commenced in 2019, was junked after the ministry was not able to get approvals from states.

The recommendation to create a business register for the first time was made by the thirteenth finance commission.