National Industrial Classification

The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the National Industrial Classification (NIC) 2025 during the 75th anniversary of the National Sample Survey and World Statistics Day in Udaipur.

About National Industrial Classification (NIC)

• The National Industrial Classification (NIC) is India’s official statistical classification system used to categorize economic activities across all sectors.
• Purpose: NIC provides a standardized framework for collecting, organizing, and publishing economic data, enabling consistency in national accounts, industry surveys, and government databases.
• Developed by: The classification is developed and maintained by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
• Application: NIC codes are used for company registration, GST filings, labour surveys, economic censuses, industrial licensing, and national income accounting.

Evolution and Purpose of NIC

• Foundational Statistical Tool: NIC serves as the core framework for statistical surveys, censuses, economic research, national accounts, and policy formulation.
• Historical Evolution: India’s classification has evolved from NIC 1962 to NIC 1970, 1987, 1990, 1998, 2004, and 2008, reflecting economic transitions over decades.
• Global Compliance: NIC 2025 is aligned with the UN’s International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC Rev. 5) for improved global comparability.

Need for the Revision

• Capturing Economic Transformation: NIC 2025 reflects rapid changes driven by technology, innovation, renewable energy, fintech, e-commerce, and digital intermediation.
• Recognising Indigenous Sectors: The revision includes sectors such as Ayush-based healthcare and the handloom industry, strengthening representation of traditional economic activities.
• Structural and Technological Shifts: The updated classification incorporates major changes in production systems, organisational models, and emerging business structures.
• Environmental Imperatives: Growing green economy activities such as carbon capture and environmental remediation required dedicated classifications.

Key Features of NIC 2025

• Six-Digit Coding Structure: Introduces a new 6-digit code system (earlier 5-digit-2008), offering greater granularity and flexibility in capturing emerging activities.
• Enhanced Intermediation Services: New classes introduced in power, retail, logistics, healthcare, education, real estate, and food services to reflect the expanding role of intermediaries. E.g. Ayush-based healthcare.
• Environmental and Green Economy Focus: Expanded coverage of carbon capture, waste management, environmental remediation, and alignment to SDGs and the SEEA (System of Environmental-Economic Accounting)  framework.
• Digital Economy Coverage: Distinct classification for cloud infrastructure, blockchain, platform-based services, and web search portals, capturing the digital transformation.
• Technology-Agnostic Approach: Categorises activities based on output/activity, not on the technology used.

Significance and Applications of NIC 2025

• Improved National Accounts Compilation (GDP, GVA, IIP).
• Better mapping of sunrise sectors like renewable energy, AI, data centres, fintech.
• Enhanced policy formulation through granular data at 6-digit level.
• Boost to Ease of Doing Business by standardising classifications for GSTN, MCA, EPFO, RBI.
• Supports employment, MSME and sectoral surveys with updated codes.

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About UN’s International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC)

• Overview: The International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) is a United Nations system for classifying economic activities in a consistent and comparable manner across countries.
• Developed by: ISIC is developed and maintained by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD).
• Purpose: ISIC provides a universal framework to organize and categorize industries, enabling countries to produce harmonized economic statistics, national accounts, and sectoral data.
• Structure: ISIC divides economic activities into sections, divisions, groups, and classes, covering all sectors from agriculture and manufacturing to services and digital industries.
• Application: ISIC is used for GDP compilation, labour-force surveys, industrial statistics, business registers, and for aligning national classifications with global standards.

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