India’s industrial workforce crossed the 2-crore mark in 2024-25, with the manufacturing sector accounting for much of the increase, according to the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) released on Wednesday.
As per the survey, the estimated number of people engaged in industries rose 7.19% to 2.10 cr in 2024-25, from 1.96 crore a year earlier. Meanwhile, employment in the registered manufacturing sector continued to expand, while total wages paid to workers rose 12.08% during the year, as compared to 2023-24.
Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana were the five largest states by manufacturing employment in 2024-25. Together, they accounted for around 56% of total manufacturing employment in the country during the year.
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The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the ASI results for the reference period April 2024 to March 2025 (i.e. financial year 2024-25) through the factsheet. Fieldwork for the 2024-25 survey was conducted between October 2025 and June 2026. The survey covers the registered manufacturing sector and provides data on employment, output, value addition, capital formation, wages and other indicators.
Manufacturing sector expands
The registered manufacturing sector recorded broad-based growth in 2024-25, with invested capital, inputs, output, gross value added (GVA), employment and wages all rising from the previous year.
The number of manufacturing establishments increased 2.64% to 2.67 lakh in 2024-25, from 2.60 lakh in 2023-24. Tamil Nadu had the highest number of establishments at 41,221, followed by Gujarat at 33,084 and Maharashtra at 27,379.
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Gross value added increased 9.59% to Rs 2,694.2 thousand crore in 2024-25 from Rs 2,458.3 thousand crore a year earlier, indicating continued expansion in industrial value addition.
Maharashtra recorded the highest share of manufacturing GVA among states, followed by Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Together, the five states accounted for more than 54% of India's manufacturing GVA and 53.30% of total manufacturing establishments.
Invested capital, comprising fixed capital and physical working capital, grew 11.10% during the year. Net income increased 9.68%, while net profit rose 7.73%.
The five largest industries by GVA were basic metals, motor vehicles, chemicals and chemical products, pharmaceutical products, and food products. Together, they contributed more than 45% of India's total manufacturing GVA in 2024-25.
The ASI is conducted annually to track changes in the composition, growth and structure of the registered manufacturing sector, including output, value addition, employment and capital formation.
