National Industrial Classification

Also called: NIC, NIC code · Topic: Economic Data: Census, NSS, Surveys and Statistical Tools · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

The National Industrial Classification (NIC) is India's standard list of codes for economic activities. MoSPI maintains it. Each activity gets a number, and the codes go from broad to detailed: a 2-digit code names a broad industry, and 3-digit and 4-digit codes split it into finer groups. The NIC follows the UN's international system, the ISIC (International Standard Industrial Classification), so India's industry data can be compared with other countries'. With one shared code list, surveys, indices and tax records all sort firms into sectors the same way.

Example

The new Index of Industrial Production (IIP, base 2022-23) takes its weights from ASI 2022-23 data at the NIC 2-, 3- and 4-digit levels. NIC 19 stands for coke and refined petroleum, and NIC 24 for basic metals. The IIP basket is built on NIC 2008, but results are released under NIC 2025 using a 4-digit concordance, which is a table that matches old codes to new ones. In September 2026, 17 of the 23 NIC 2-digit manufacturing groups grew. In the trial Index of Services Production (2026), GST sales data are grouped by NIC code to measure each services sub-sector.

Don't confuse with

• Use-based classification of IIP: this groups goods by their end use, such as capital goods, intermediate goods or consumer durables. NIC groups them by the industry they come from.

Read more

• Economic Data: Census, NSS, Surveys and Statistical Tools