Highlights:

Plan for dedicated city-level statistical reports for 47 million-plus cities based on Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE). Provides Employment Profile of Million-Plus Cities and City-Level Profile of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises.  MoSPI invites comments and suggestions from stakeholders on the proposed framework,indicators, and dissemination strategy for generation of City-Level Statistical Reports for Million-Plus Cities.

Background:
India is experiencing rapid urbanisation, with cities increasingly driving economic growth, employment generation, and structural transformation. Despite this, official statistics at the city level remain limited, constraining evidence-based urban policy and planning.

To address this gap, the National Statistics Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), proposes to develop and disseminate dedicated city-level statistical reports for 47 million-plus cities (as per Population Census 2011). These reports will be based
on existing data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE), both of which already allow statistically robust estimation at the city level.

Two annual thematic reports are proposed. The first will present the Employment Profile of Million- Plus Cities, providing key labour market indicators such as Labour Force Participation Rate, Worker Population Ratio, and Unemployment Rate. The second will present a City-Level Profile of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises, capturing the scale, structure, employment, and economic performance of the urban informal sector.

The proposed development of city-level statistical reports marks an important step in aligning India’s statistical system with the realities of a rapidly urbanising economy. By bringing cities into sharper analytical focus, the initiative seeks to bridge critical data gaps and support informed decision-making at all levels of governance. 

The initiative aims to enhance the availability of granular urban statistics, support city-level policy formulation, contribute to city-level GDP estimation, and improve understanding of urban labour markets and enterprise dynamics. The reports will be disseminated annually in the public domain using
user-friendly formats. 

A consultation paper on the proposed framework for generation of city-level estimates based on the existing PLFS and ASUSE data is now uploaded on the MoSPI website for wider consultation of stakeholders. The views of Stakeholders are invited to review and suggest improvements to the
proposed framework, indicators, methodology, and dissemination strategy; to refine it based on the feedback.

Suggestions and comments may be sent to the email ID: nssocpd.coord@mospi.gov.in, tc.dpd@mospi.gov.in and tc.sdrd-mospi[at]gov[dot]in by 15th May, 2026. The consultation paper on City- Level Statistical Reports for Million-Plus Cities can be accessed at link provided below:

https://www.mospi.gov.in/uploads/announcements/announcements_1777024830001_327ffffc-25ef-47b9-a22d-a4e5dda2a14e_Consultation_paper_on_City-Level_Statistical_Reports_for_Million-Plus_Cities_(2).pdf

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Samrat

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