Nagaland's factory employment shows modest growth amid overall stagnation

Status of ‘Factories’ in Nagaland as per Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) Results from 2013-14 to 2022-23.

Status of ‘Factories’ in Nagaland as per Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) Results from 2013-14 to 2022-23.

•    Factory numbers remain static in State after ‘peaking’ in 2014-15 
•    Marginal gains in 2022-23, shows ASI report  

Moa Jamir
Dimapur | October 3

After peaking at 197 in 2014-15, industrial development in Nagaland seems to have stalled, with the number of factories fluctuating between 185 and 197 thereafter, reflected the analysis of the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) reports over the years.

The latest ASI results for 2022-23, released by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on September 30, highlighted that the number of factories in Nagaland stood at 193 in 2022-23, registering a modest growth of around 1% over 2021-22, when the figure was 191. 

However, the increase in the workforce was more positive, with a near 8% (7.74%) rise to 4958 in 2022-23, up from 4602 in 2021-22. Additionally, the overall engagement of persons in the factories stood at 5764, up from 5347 the previous year, indicating around a 7.80% growth. However, employment in factories and overall engagement were highest in 2017-18, at 5227 and 6004 respectively.

According to MoSPI, the reference period for ASI 2022-23 was the accounting year of the factory, ending on any day during the fiscal year 2022-23, and the survey was conducted from November 2023 to June 2024 through the ASI Web Portal.

In the survey, a factory refers to any premises registered under sections 2m (i) and 2m (ii) of the Factories Act, 1948, meeting the criteria of either ten or more workers engaged in a manufacturing process using power at any time in the past year or twenty or more workers in the same process without using power.

Besides, ‘Total Persons Engaged’ include all workers defined under the factory criteria, proprietors, and their family members who actively participate in the work, even if unpaid, as well as unpaid members of the co-operative societies who work in or for the factory in any direct and productive capacity.

Stagnation after 2014-15
Meanwhile, an analysis of the ASI results over the past decade from 2013-14 indicates that the growth of factories in the state seems to have stalled after 2014-15. In 2013-14, the number of factories stood at 134, which increased by over 47% to 197 in 2014-15. 

However, the number declined to 185 the next year before recovering to 192 in 2016-17. The numbers decreased to 186 in 2017-18 and thereafter marginally increased for four consecutive years to reach 192 in 2020-21. In 2021-22, it decreased again to 191 before recovering to 193 in 2022-23.

In absolute terms, from 2013-14 to 2022-23, the number of factories increased by 59, from 134 to 193. During the same period, the overall number of factories in India increased from 224,576 to 253,334, or by 28,758. 

It is noteworthy that the number for Nagaland stood at 113 in 2004-05, the year from which separate data on the state became available on MoSPI’s website.

Overall All-India status
According to a press release from the MoSPI release, a key highlight of the ASI 2022-23 included that the Gross Value Added (GVA) grew by 7.3% in current prices over 2021-22. 

The year 2022-23 witnessed growth in most major economic parameters such as invested capital, input, output, GVA, employment, and wages, even surpassing pre-pandemic levels in absolute terms. 

Employment grew by over 7%, while the number of persons engaged in this sector in 2022-23 has exceeded the pre-pandemic level (that is 2018-19) by more than 22.14 lakh, it said. 

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu had the highest number of factories at 39,666, followed by 31,031 in Gujarat and 26,446 in Maharashtra. 
However, in terms of GVA, Maharashtra ranked first in 2022-23, followed by Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.  The top five states together contributed more than 54% of the total manufacturing GVA of the country in 2022-23.

In terms of net value added, Nagaland was ranked among 35 States and Union Territoeres listed in the ASI 2022-23 report. 

The top five states employing the highest number of persons were Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka, contributing about 55% of total manufacturing employment in the year 2022-23.