Villages power over half of India's manufacturing

A majority of the total output from India's formal manufacturing sector comes from rural areas, marking a continuing shift away from cities.

- SACHIN P MAMPATTA

The total output is broadly a measure of manufactured products and byproducts coming out of a factory. It also includes money earned through manufacturing for others, as well as from nonindustrial sources such as rent or the sale of electricity. The urban share of total output was 50.5 per cent in 2018-19. It slipped below the halfway mark in subsequent pandemic years.

The latest Annual Survey of Industries 2023-24 shows that it was at 49.5 per cent, the fourth year in a row that urban areas have been a minority contributor to manufacturing output, though there has been some improvement from the low of 48.7 per cent in 2021-22.

Many other indicators also show a similar rural shift. The urban share of factories, persons engaged in manufacturing, wages to workers, and net value added are all lower in 2023-24 than they were in 2018-19.