MoSPI releases NIC 2025, aims to capture economy's new & emerging sectors

NIC 2025's new six-digit coding expands coverage to emerging digital, green and indigenous sectors, offering sharper classification for surveys, GDP estimation and policy planning

In a bid to capture the new and emerging sectors of the economy in the wake of technological advancement and innovation, the statistics ministry on Tuesday released the National Industrial Classification (NIC) 2025 — the first revision since the last classification was released in 2008.

 

The NIC 2025 introduces a new six-digit coding structure, in place of the existing five-digit structure, thus allowing greater granularity and better representation of emerging economic activities in statistical surveys, censuses, economic research and policy formulation. Meanwhile, at the class (four-digit level) and sub-class level, the number of activities has increased to 463 and 1,887 from 403 and 1,304 activities in the previous classification.

 

NIC — a standardised numerical system developed by the statistics ministry — classifies and categorises various economic sectors, whose output is then added to arrive at the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). It also serves as a foundational tool for organising data related to industries and businesses.

 

Besides, the NIC 2025 focuses on environmental and green economy as it expands the coverage of carbon capture, waste management and environmental remediation activities. It also includes activities such as cloud infrastructure, blockchain, platform-based services and web search portals, which are distinctly classified, reflecting the evolving nature of the digital economy.

 

“The revision reflects major structural, technological and organisational shifts in India’s economy, including the rapid growth of renewable energy, fintech, e-commerce and digital intermediation. It also recognises important indigenous sectors like Ayush-based healthcare and the handloom industry,” said the ministry in a statement.

 

The NIC 2025 has been prepared by MoSPI in alignment with the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (ISIC) Revision 5, developed by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD). The revision was carried out under the guidance of the Expert Committee for Revision of Economic Classifications (ECREC), comprising subject matter experts and industry representatives.

 

“NIC 2025 identifies emerging activities such as digital platforms, payment systems, blockchain services and other intermediation functions. It also recognises the country’s indigenous sectors, including Ayush practitioners and the handloom industry. This updated classification provides a robust framework to assess avenues of economic activity and innovation,” MoSPI secretary Saurabh Garg said in a foreword to the new classification.