The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a formal system for sharing business data. The agreement will allow information from the Udyam Registration platform, which records small and medium businesses across India, to flow into the national Statistical Business Register used for official economic surveys and analysis.
The MoU was signed by Dr. Rajneesh, Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner at the Ministry of MSME, and Dr. Dalip Singh, Additional Director General at MoSPI, in the presence of officials from both departments.
Key facts
- MoU signed between Ministry of MSME and Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
- Data will flow through two-way APIs (application programming interfaces) from Udyam Registration to the National Statistical Business Register
- Signatories: Dr. Rajneesh (Ministry of MSME) and Dr. Dalip Singh (MoSPI)
- Signed on 29 September 2026
What the MoU covers
Under this agreement, the Ministry of MSME will share unit-wise data collected through Udyam Registration with MoSPI using digital APIs. These are technical pathways that allow automated, secure transfer of information between government databases. The data shared will include details about registered micro, small and medium enterprises, their characteristics, location and other relevant information.
MoSPI will use this data to strengthen the National Statistical Business Register, which is India’s central database of all businesses and economic units engaged in production and services. The arrangement creates a structured, formal process for this data exchange, ensuring consistency and regularity rather than ad-hoc requests.
What is the Statistical Business Register
The Statistical Business Register is a foundational tool for India’s economic statistics system. It maintains an updated database of all registered business units, enterprises and establishments operating within the country. The register captures key characteristics of these units, such as size, sector, employment and relationships between different businesses.
Government agencies use the Statistical Business Register as the basis for designing and conducting economic surveys. It helps statisticians select representative samples of businesses for detailed questionnaires on production, employment, trade and other measures. The register also enables the government to produce statistics on business demography—such as how many new firms are created, how many close down, and how many grow each year.
By maintaining a single, consistent source of business identification and information, the register improves the accuracy and comparability of economic data collected across different surveys and time periods.
Why this matters for data quality
Until now, the Udyam Registration system and the Statistical Business Register operated separately. The Udyam platform registers all businesses that voluntarily apply, while the Statistical Business Register attempted to compile information from multiple sources, which could lead to gaps or inconsistencies.
This MoU bridges that gap. By directly linking Udyam data to the Statistical Business Register, the government can ensure better coverage of the informal and formal small business sector. It also improves the reliability of the information by drawing from a single authoritative source rather than multiple databases that might conflict or duplicate.
The arrangement will help identify which businesses are active, what sectors they operate in, and where they are located. This more complete picture makes economic surveys more accurate and enables better measurement of India’s overall economic activity and employment.
What this means for you
If you run a registered micro, small or medium enterprise under Udyam Registration, your business information will now automatically feed into the national statistical system. This does not add any new compliance burden, as you will continue to register and update information on Udyam as usual.
For researchers, policymakers and economists, this agreement means access to better and more comprehensive data on the small business sector, which forms a large part of India’s economy. Policymakers can use improved statistics to design better support schemes for small businesses.
For survey respondents, more accurate and complete registers reduce the burden of repeated questionnaires, as statisticians can better target their surveys to actual populations rather than relying on guesswork.