Gujarat added the most number of factories since 2013-14 and has in the process dislodged Maharashtra from the second place in the ranking of states with the highest number of manufacturing units, provisional results of the 2019-20 Annual Survey of Industries show. Tamil Nadu continues to be at the top position with the most number of factories, though the addition of new units has been sluggish during the period of review.
Gujarat net added over 5,600 factories between 2013-14 and 2019-20, taking its total to about 28,480 units. Maharashtra, in contrast, saw the number of factories fall by more than 3,500 units to a little more than 25,600.
Haryana also kept pace with Gujarat in the net addition to the number of factories operating in the state. The state saw the number of units jump by nearly 5,150 during the six years, recording the fastest growth in the number of factories at 84 percent. Yet, the number of factories in Haryana at about 11,250 was much lower than the numbers in operation in states such as Punjab, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
Overall, there was a net addition of 21,900 factories in the country between 2013-14 and 2019-20, a rise of about 10 percent. Chhattisgarh and Assam were among the other states that reported a rapid increase in the number of factories at 54 percent and 48 percent, respectively. Above-average growth in the number of factories was reported from Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh as also from the less industrialised states in the North East. The net addition to the number of factories in Uttar Pradesh was a slow 12 percent.
The growth in the number of factories in Gujarat and Haryana and the decline in Maharashtra was quite uneven, with sharp changes seen in 2-3 years. For instance, of about 5,600 factories added in Gujarat during the six years, most net additions happened in 2016-17 and 2019-20 when about 3,200 units were added. In Haryana, most additions happened in 2014-15 and 2018-19, with a decline in numbers reported in the following years. Maharashtra reported a fall in the number of factories in operation in each of the six years under review, but the largest drop was seen in 2016-17 when 1,200 units ceased working.
Tamil Nadu tops job creation
Tamil Nadu net added just 4 percent new factories between 2013-14 and 2019-20 but its more than 38,800 factories added about 5.68 lakh jobs during that period, taking the average number of workers per factory to 57 in 2019-20 from 44 in 2013-14.
Factories in Gujarat were a close second in job creation – they added 5.40 lakh workers during the same period. The average number of workers in factories in Gujarat climbed from about 46 to 56 in those six years.
The national average of workers per factory was 53 in 2019-20, up from 46 in 2013-14. In all, 130.58 lakh workers were employed in 2.46 lakh factories in 2019-20, against 104.44 in 224.6 factories in 2013-14. Tamil Nadu was the top employer of factory workers. Gujarat climbed to the second position, dislodging Maharashtra.
Significantly, Maharashtra reported a 9 percent increase in the number of workers employed in factories despite a 12 decline in the number of units.
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