The Microenterprise Mela - Size & Diversity of the Microenterprise Sector in India

This publication is a unique meta-analysis of the contemporary microenterprise sector in India. It has been undertaken by M-CRIL as a contribution to the understanding of the sector for the design and support of enterprise promotion programs.

The meta-analysis is based on the latest data on the microenterprise sector released in July 2024 by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) of the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) of the Government of India. The publication combines data from the above Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) with M-CRIL’s 40+ years of experience studying every aspect of microenterprises in India and in a dozen other countries in Asia as well as to some extent in Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa and diverse other countries (total ~35). During this research, M-CRIL has undertaken hundreds of field studies, desk research and analysis of data from microenterprise and microfinance surveys conducted by us and also by other institutions.