Employment

Dr Bandana Sen, Director General, Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), chaired a round-table conference in Kolkata, today, on the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI) 2024-25 and CAPEX 2025 returns. Representatives from business associations, merchant bodies and industry organisations attended the meeting to discuss the functioning and importance of the survey.

 

The meeting discussed the problems and solutions faced by the registered manufacturing sector, the survey’s critical role in policy formation, the need for participation from merchant and commercial organisations, the provision of free unit-level data for industry participants, and the legal framework under which the survey is conducted, namely the Collection of Statistics Act, 2008. It was noted that the ASI follows recommendations of the United Nations Statistics Division and that industry extensively uses this data to plan operations, analyse markets, make investment and production decisions, track performance against industry averages, assess labour market dynamics and measure environmental impact, helping keep the sector democratic, fair and dynamic. The inclusive 

approach of the exercise also reflects the Government’s principle of 'sabka saath, sabka vikas'.

 

The purpose of the ASI was reiterated as a comprehensive statistical effort to capture the condition and progress of the registered manufacturing sector, ensure reliable inputs for evidence-based policymaking and strengthen the industrial ecosystem through accurate, transparent and participatory data collection.