each state. This register is used as the sampling frame for the ASI. The ASI extends to the entire country, except the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Sikkim and the union territory (UT) of Lakshadweep.<sup>13</sup> ASI is the principal source of industrial statistics for the organized manufacturing sector in India. It provides statistical information to assess changes in the growth, composition, and structure of the organized manufacturing sector, comprising activities related to manufacturing processes, repair services, gas and water supply, and cold storage. As noted in Ghani et al. (2012), organized manufacturing contributes the substantial majority of India’s manufacturing output, while the unorganized sector accounts for the substantial majority of employment for Indian manufacturing workers.

Manufacturing activity undertaken in the unorganized sector, such as households (own-account manufacturing enterprises, or OAMEs) and unregistered workshops, is covered by the NSSO. Following the first Economic Census in 1977, small establishments and enterprises not employing any hired workers (i.e. OAMEs) engaged in manufacturing and repairing activities were surveyed on a sample basis in the 33<sup>rd</sup> round of the NSSO during 1978-79. Subsequent surveys covering OAMEs and Non-Directory Manufacturing Establishments (NDMEs) were conducted in the 40<sup>th</sup> and 45<sup>th</sup> rounds of the NSSO during 1984-85 and 1989-90, respectively. In 1994-95, a first integrated survey on unorganized manufacturing and repairing enterprises covering OAMEs, NDMEs, and DMEs was undertaken during the 51<sup>st</sup> round of NSSO. Subsequently, surveys of manufacturing enterprises in the unorganized sector were conducted in the 56<sup>th</sup> (2000-01), 62<sup>nd</sup> (2005-06), and 67<sup>th</sup> (2010-11) rounds.<sup>14</sup>

> 13 The sampling design followed in most ASI surveys is a stratified circular systematic one. All factories in the updated frame (universe) are divided into two sectors: Census and Sample. The Census sector is comprised of industrial units that belong to the six states/UTs that are less industrially developed: Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Andaman & Nicobar (A&N) Islands. For the rest of the states/UTs, the Census Sector includes (i) units having 100 or more workers and (ii) all factories covered under Joint Returns. All other units belonging to the strata (state x four-digit industry of the NIC-04 framework) having four or fewer units are also considered as Census sector units. Finally, the remaining units, excluding those of Census sector, called the Sample sector, are arranged in order of their number of workers and samples are then drawn circularly and systematically, considering a sampling fraction of 20% within each stratum (state x sector x four-digit industry) for all states. An even number of units with a minimum of four are selected and evenly distributed in two sub-samples.

> 14 The surveys on unorganized manufacturing enterprises usually covered: (a) manufacturing enterprises not registered under Sections 2m(i) and 2m(ii) of the Factories Act of 1948; (b) manufacturing enterprises registered under Section 85 of the Factories Act; (c) non-ASI enterprises engaged in cotton ginning, cleaning, and baling (NIC-

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