Ministry of MSME and Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation Sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for development and strengthening of the Statistical Business Register

1. At a Glance

• The Ministry of MSME and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) exchanged an MoU that sets up a regular way to share data for building and strengthening the Statistical Business Register (SBR) [1].
• Under the MoU, unit-wise Udyam Registration data will flow through a two-way API to help prepare the National Statistical Business Register (NSBR) [1].
• An SBR is a central, regularly updated database of statistical units engaged in economic activity. It is the foundational infrastructure of the economic statistics system [1].
• UPSC relevance: it links data governance, MSME formalisation, the reform of official statistics and international statistical standards (UN guidelines on SBRs) [1][6].

2. Why in the News

• 29 September 2026: PIB Delhi reported that the MoU had been exchanged between the Ministry of MSME and MoSPI [1].
• Signatories: Dr. Rajneesh, Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME, and Dr. Dalip Singh, Additional Director General, MoSPI [1].

3. Background & Evolution

• 2020: MSMEs are now classified on a composite criterion of investment and turnover [4].
• 01.07.2020: the Udyam Registration Portal (URP) was launched. Registration is free, paperless and digital [3].
• 11.01.2023: the Udyam Assist Platform (UAP) was launched to formalise Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs) [3].
• March 2019: the UN Statistical Commission endorsed the draft Guidelines on Statistical Business Registers at its 50th session [6].
• The UN Guidelines were prepared by the UN Committee of Experts on Business and Trade Statistics together with the UN Statistics Division (UNSD) [6].
• Union Budget 2025-26: the investment and turnover limits for MSME classification were raised to 2.5 times and 2 times respectively. The new definition took effect on 01.04.2025 [4].
• MoSPI publishes a Compendium of Datasets and Registries in India (2024 and 2025 editions), which lists administrative registries such as Udyam [7].
• 29.09.2026: the MSME–MoSPI MoU on the SBR/NSBR [1].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
What the SBR is	A central, regularly updated database of registered statistical units engaged in economic activity within a defined geographical territory [1]
What it captures	Businesses, enterprises, establishments and other economic units; their key characteristics; and the relationships between units [1]
Functions	Identifies the target population for economic surveys; supports sample selection; produces business demography statistics; gives a common framework; integrates data sources [1]
International view	SBRs are the "backbone of the statistical system". They provide the frame for surveys, sample selection and grossing-up [6]
Recommended source	The UN Guidelines say SBRs should be built mainly from administrative sources, which give good coverage and stability [6]
Data shared	Unit-wise Udyam Registration data, sent through APIs [1]
Mechanism	A two-way API feeding the NSBR [1]
Parties	Ministry of MSME (Development Commissioner) and MoSPI [1]
Form of instrument	An MoU, which is an administrative arrangement and not a statute [1]
Udyam coverage	Over 7.83 crore enterprises on URP + UAP as of 28.02.2026 [3]
Earlier count	7.30 crore from 01.07.2020 to 17.12.2025 (4.37 crore on URP and 2.92 crore on UAP) [5]
MSME limits (Budget 2025-26)	Investment limit ×2.5 and turnover limit ×2, effective 01.04.2025 [4]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Economic

• A complete business register makes economic surveys better targeted. That improves the quality of estimates that depend on sampling [1][6].
• Business demography statistics (enterprise births, deaths and survival) help in designing MSME policy [1][6].
• The Udyam base is large (7.83 crore units) and includes informal micro units brought in through UAP, so the NSBR can reach small and informal enterprises [3].

Administrative / Governance

• The MoU puts inter-ministerial data sharing on a formal footing and replaces ad hoc requests [1].
• The API-based, two-way link allows regular updating, which the SBR definition requires [1].
• This follows the UN advice to build SBRs from administrative data rather than only from censuses or surveys [6].

Scientific / Technological

• API interoperability is an example of digital public infrastructure being reused for statistics [1].
• Integrating registries requires unique identifiers and deduplication. Unit-wise matching is the main technical task [1][6].

Ethical / Legal

• Unit-wise data sharing raises questions of confidentiality and purpose limitation. The MoU restricts use to "statistical purposes" [1].
• Compare with India's personal-data protection framework. Most business data is not personal, but data on proprietorships can be.

Social

• Better coverage of micro and informal enterprises makes vulnerable segments visible to statistics and policy. Udyam also publishes state-wise data on women-owned MSMEs [2][3].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• 01.04.2025: the revised MSME classification limits came into effect [4].
• 17.12.2025: 7.30 crore registrations on URP + UAP [5].
• 2025: MoSPI released the Compendium of Datasets and Registries in India, 2025 [7].
• 28.02.2026: registrations crossed 7.83 crore [3].
• 29.09.2026: the MSME–MoSPI MoU on the SBR/NSBR was exchanged [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• The MoU is between the Ministry of MSME and MoSPI. It does not involve NITI Aayog or DPIIT [1].
• Its purpose is to develop and strengthen the Statistical Business Register (SBR) [1].
• Data is shared through a two-way API [1].
• The data source is Udyam Registration (unit-wise data) [1].
• The final product is the National Statistical Business Register (NSBR) [1].
• The MSME signatory was the Additional Secretary & Development Commissioner (MSME) [1].
• The MoSPI signatory was an Additional Director General [1].
• The SBR covers statistical units within a defined geographical territory [1].
• The Udyam Registration Portal was launched on 01.07.2020 [3].
• The Udyam Assist Platform was launched on 11.01.2023 to formalise informal micro enterprises [3].
• There were over 7.83 crore Udyam registrations as of 28.02.2026 [3].
• The UN Guidelines on SBRs were endorsed at the 50th session of the UN Statistical Commission, March 2019 [6].
• The UN Guidelines recommend building SBRs mainly from administrative sources [6].
• Budget 2025-26: MSME investment limit ×2.5 and turnover limit ×2, effective 01.04.2025 [4].

8. Why a Registration Count Is Not a Count of Live Businesses

• Udyam records what owners say about themselves
• Registration is free, paperless and based on self-declaration [8].
• No documents or proof have to be uploaded [9].

• Details are checked against Income Tax and GST systems through PAN or GSTIN [9]. A tiny informal unit with no GSTIN gives that check much less to work with.

• The register grows much faster than new businesses start

• Registrations went from 7.30 crore (17.12.2025) to 7.83 crore (28.02.2026), then to 9.16 crore by August 2026 [5][3][10].
• That is about 1.86 crore more in roughly eight months.

• Most of these are older businesses signing up for the first time. Very few are businesses that were just born.

• People register to get benefits, not to be counted

• The Udyam Assist Platform was launched so that informal micro enterprises could get Priority Sector Lending (bank credit that RBI requires banks to give to chosen sectors) [13].
• About 2.92 crore of the 7.30 crore registrations came through UAP [5].

• When the reason to register is a benefit, the register tracks who applied for help, not the whole economy.

• Nobody is pushed to report that a business has closed

• One stated function of the SBR is business demography: counting enterprise births, deaths and survival [1].
• Registering earns a benefit. Reporting a closure earns nothing, so closed units can stay on the list for years.
• If Udyam data goes into the NSBR without cleaning, the register will count too many live firms and too few closures.

9. The 2025 Definition Change Breaks the Comparison Over Time

• The same firm can move into a different size class without growing
• From 01.04.2025, the investment limit rose 2.5 times and the turnover limit 2 times [4].

• Some firms that were 'small' before are now 'micro', and some 'medium' firms are now inside the MSME group.

• Why this matters for the NSBR

• Udyam counts by size class before and after April 2025 measure different groups of firms.
• If the NSBR stores only the current label, a rise in 'micro' units may just be the new definition at work, not real growth.
• The register should keep each unit's actual investment and turnover figures, not only its MSME category. Then counts can be rebuilt on one fixed definition.

10. Who Udyam Leaves Out of the Register

• Udyam sees only MSMEs, and only those that sign up
• The SBR is meant to cover all statistical units doing economic activity within the territory [1].
• Udyam covers only enterprises that fall within the MSME limits [4]. It cannot supply large firms at all.

• A unit that never registers is invisible to Udyam, however big or small it is.

• The only full headcount is the Economic Census

• MoSPI's Economic Census gives a frame (a complete list to sample from) of establishments in both the organised and unorganised sectors [11].
• MoSPI's own design keeps larger units in a regularly updated 'Business Register' and records informal units by location [11].

• So Udyam can fill in the middle of the NSBR. It cannot replace a full count, and it cannot supply the large-firm top end.

• The UN advice already expects more than one source

• The UN Guidelines say SBRs should be built mainly from administrative sources, plural [6].
• One registry that people join by choice cannot give full coverage alone.

11. What Changes for Surveys Like ASUSE

• Today, surveys start from places, not from a list of firms
• ASUSE (Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises) first picks census villages in rural areas and UFS blocks in towns. UFS blocks are small urban areas from the Urban Frame Survey [12].
• Only after that are establishments picked inside those areas [12].

• This is called an area frame: you choose places first, then list the businesses you find there.

• A good register allows a list frame

• With a reliable list of units and their size and industry, surveys can sample firms directly [1][6].

• Rare but important groups, like mid-sized manufacturers, can then be sampled on purpose, not found by chance.

• But a bad list is worse than no list

• If the list keeps closed firms and misses unregistered ones, a list-based sample has the same holes.
• Grossing-up (turning sample results into all-India totals) would then scale up those errors [6].
• Until the NSBR is tested against the field, the area frame should stay as a check.

12. What MoSPI and the MSME Ministry Should Do Next

• MSME Ministry: add a yearly 'still active' check to Udyam
• Udyam is already linked to Income Tax and GST systems [9].
• Units with no GST or tax activity for a set period could be flagged as possibly closed before the data goes to the NSBR.

• This gives the SBR the business deaths it needs for business demography [1].

• MoSPI: bring in more registries than Udyam

• Follow the UN Guidelines and build from several administrative sources [6].

• MoSPI's Compendium of Datasets and Registries already maps which registries exist [7]. It is the natural list of what to link next.

• MoSPI: check the NSBR against the Economic Census

• Compare NSBR counts with Economic Census counts, district by district [11].

• Where the gap is large, fix the register before surveys use it as their frame.

• Both ministries: publish the rules for the data link

• The MoU limits use to statistical purposes [1], but an MoU is not a law [1].
• Publishing which fields are shared, who can see unit-level records and how long they are kept would make that promise something people can check.

13. Anchors for Answers

• Data: 9.16 crore Udyam registrations as of August 2026, up from 7.30 crore in December 2025 [10][5]
• Data: 2.92 crore of 7.30 crore registrations came through the Udyam Assist Platform, meant for informal micro units [5]
• Report/Committee: UN Guidelines on Statistical Business Registers, endorsed at the 50th session of the UN Statistical Commission, 2019. They say SBRs should be built mainly from administrative sources [6]
• Scheme: Udyam Assist Platform (2023). It links informal micro units to Priority Sector Lending, which also explains why people register [13]
• Scheme: Economic Census and ASUSE. These are the current frames and surveys that a working NSBR would strengthen [11][12]

14. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Indian economy (mobilisation of resources, growth, development); MSMEs; inclusive growth.
• GS-II: Government policies and interventions; e-governance; inter-ministerial coordination.
• Question stems: 1. "Robust administrative data is the foundation of credible official statistics." Discuss this with reference to India's efforts to build a National Statistical Business Register. 2. How can integrating registries such as Udyam with the statistical system help formalise the MSME sector? What challenges remain? 3. Examine the governance and privacy concerns in inter-departmental data sharing through APIs for statistical purposes.

15. Related Topics to Study Next

• Udyam Registration and Udyam Assist Platform: the data source that feeds the NSBR.
• MSME definition and the revision in Budget 2025-26: decides which units are classified as MSMEs.
• Economic Census and Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE): the surveys that use an SBR as their frame.
• MoSPI's Compendium of Datasets and Registries: a map of India's administrative data.
• UN Guidelines on SBRs and the SBR Maturity Model: the international benchmark.
• Digital Public Infrastructure and India's data protection law: the framework governing API-based data sharing.
• GDP and IIP base-year revisions: the output indicators that improve with better frames.

16. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• SBR is not the same as Udyam. Udyam is an administrative registration for MSMEs. The SBR/NSBR is a statistical register covering all economic units, and it uses Udyam as one input [1].
• Wrong signatory rank: the MoSPI signatory was an ADG, not the Secretary or the Chief Statistician [1].
• One-way vs two-way: the PIB release describes the API as two-way [1].
• Date confusion: URP launched 2020, UAP launched 2023, the new MSME limits took effect 01.04.2025, and the MoU is from September 2026 [1][3][4].
• Legal status: an MoU is not a statutory mandate. Do not attribute it to the Collection of Statistics Act or any other Act [1].