ASUSE 2027-28 to Shift to April-March Financial Year

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has proposed that the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) for 2027-28 be conducted from April 2027 to March 2028, moving its reference period from the calendar year to the financial year. The survey has been run by the National Statistics Office (NSO) since 2021-22 and covers the unincorporated non-agricultural sector, a segment that carries a large share of employment and gross value added and is tied to the incorporated sector through its linkages.

Why the calendar is changing

Until now ASUSE has followed a January to December cycle. Aligning it with the financial year brings it in line with other enterprise surveys such as the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) and the Annual Survey of Incorporated Services Sector Enterprises (ASISSE), and makes the data easier to use for National Accounts work alongside other statistics compiled on a financial-year basis. To avoid a gap in the quarterly series, the January to March 2027 quarter will still be surveyed using the existing ASUSE 2026 schedule, after which the new cycle begins in April 2027.

New questions in the schedule

For the first time, the survey will ask about the gender-specific constraints that women entrepreneurs face in running and managing their establishments, building an evidence base on the challenges before female-led enterprises. Further additions include questions on the different sources of electricity that establishments use, and a new question on investment in fixed assets over a longer reference period than the present schedule allows, so that the investment trajectory of an establishment can be read over time.

Handloom and handicraft

At the request of the Ministry of Textiles, two questions will be added to identify handloom, power-loom and handicraft establishments within the survey frame. The Ministry described this sector as sitting where the unincorporated economy meets traditional knowledge systems, where granular data is necessary for evidence-based policy.

What continues

The revamped sampling design stays, with provision for participating States to generate district-level estimates. So do globally accepted classifications, data collection through Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) and an information and communication technology block that asks about presence on e-commerce marketplaces and the use of digital payment instruments such as UPI, mobile wallets and point-of-sale devices. Findings will continue to appear in the Quarterly Bulletin of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (QBUSE). The draft establishment schedule is on the MoSPI website, and comments from policymakers, Ministries, researchers and data users may be sent in the prescribed format by 15 November 2026.