Of the total registered units, a significant majority fall under the micro enterprise category, highlighting the vast informal base of India’s entrepreneurial sector steadily embracing formalisation.
As per the data, over 1.4 crore enterprises are owned and operated by women entrepreneurs. (Source: freepik)
The micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector in India is undergoing swift formalization, with over 6.5 crore businesses now registered on the government’s Udyam portal. As of July 8, 2025, the total number of registered enterprises had crossed 6.56 crore, according to data from the Udyam Registration portal.
The ministry announced the milestone in a post on X on Monday, indicating sustained growth in the formalisation drive of the government to enable access to government schemes including formal credit to MSMEs. Launched in July 2020, the Udyam portal was aimed at easing registration for MSMEs by aiding paperless, Aadhaar-based onboarding without the requirement of physical documentation.
Of the total registered units, a significant majority fall under the micro enterprise category, highlighting the vast informal base of India’s entrepreneurial sector that is steadily embracing formalisation. Moreover, the Udyam portal also captures granular data about the ownership profile of MSMEs registered.
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In terms of enterprise types, currently 6.5 crore are micro-enterprises followed by 4.76 lakh small enterprises and 35,682 medium-sized businesses. Employment data also seems robust as Udyam-registered businesses report 28.3 crore workers, highlighting the sector’s central role in national job creation.
As per the data, over 1.4 crore enterprises are owned and operated by women entrepreneurs, underscoring the gradual rise in participation of women entrepreneurs in the MSME landscape.
Further, more than 1.2 crore units are owned by entrepreneurs belonging to SC, ST, and OBC categories, indicating the government’s drive to onboard entrepreneurs from marginalised communities.
As of August 2024, Maharashtra led with 64 lakh micro enterprises, followed by Uttar Pradesh (50.7 lakh), Karnataka (29.4 lakh), West Bengal (35 lakh) and Tamil Nadu (38.7 lakh).
The surge in Udyam registrations follows the government’s efforts such as integration with the Udyam Assist platform, inclusion of traders under MSME ambit, and digitisation to enable Aadhaar and PAN-based onboarding. The recent momentum builds on last year’s peak when registrations hit 4.78 crore by July 2024 — marking an additional 1.78 crore sign-ups in 12 months.
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