Indian National Industrial Classification (NIC)

The Indian National Industrial Classification (NIC) is a standardized system used by the Government of India to classify and organize economic activities for statistical purposes. Managed by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, NIC is based on the United Nations' International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC). NIC is structured into five levels of aggregation ranging from Sections at the broadest level to Sub-classes at the most detailed level.

Metadata

Publisher type National
Publisher(s)
Jurisdictions India

Current Version: NIC 2008

A draft of NIC 2008 was approved in September 2008 by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in India. However, NIC 2008 took official effect in June 2014. NIC 2008 is the Indian adaptation of the United Nation's ISIC Rev. 4.

Changes between NIC 2004 and NIC 2008

NIC 2008 is a revised version of NIC 2004, reflecting the change in the international system from ISIC Rev. 3.1 to ISIC Rev. 4. Four new sections were created in NIC 2008 with sections A to Q of NIC 2004 being replaced by sections A to U in NIC 2008. There was also a relocation of activities across sections such as the movement of class 5260 (Repair of personal & household goods) from Section G (Wholesale and retail trade) of NIC 2004 to section S (Other service activities) of NIC 2008. Moreover, at the most detailed level, some sub-classes from NIC 2004 were split and made into classes in NIC 2008 such as classes 0114 (Growing of sugar cane) and 0115 (Growing of tobacco) which respectively derive from the NIC 2004 sub-classes 01115 (Growing of sugarcane or sugar beet) and 01114 (Growing of tobacco, including its preliminary processing).

Structure of NIC 2008

NIC 2008 is structured hierarchically into five levels, as follows:

  • Sections: 21 sections denoted by English alphabets from A to U. This is the broadest level in NIC 2008.

  • Divisions: 88 divisions represented by two-digit numeric codes.

  • Groups: 238 groups represented by three-digit numeric codes.

  • Classes: 403 classes represented by four-digit numeric codes.

  • Sub-classes: 1304 sub-classes represented by five-digit numeric codes. This is the finest level of detail in NIC 2008. While NIC 2008 is exactly aligned with ISIC Rev. 4 up to the class level, the sub-classes reflect the specificities of the Indian economy.

The table below gives a breakdown of each of the 21 sections in NIC 2008. It shows that the section C (Manufacturing) is the most detailed in NIC 2008 with 610 sub-classes, followed by section A (Agriculture, forestry and fishing) and section G (Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles) both with 124 sub-classes. The detail of the Manufacturing section identifies activities that are relevant to India's industrial landscape. For example, the NIC 2008 class 1072 (Manufacture of sugar) is split into sub-classes such as 10722 (Manufacture of "gur" from sugarcane); 10724 (Manufacture of "khandsari" sugar from sugarcane) and 10726 (Manufacture of "boora" and candy from sugarcane). The presence of locally relevant industries in NIC 2008 is also noticeable in other sections of NIC 2008 such as section Q (Human health and social work activities) which contains the sub-classes 86901 (Activities of Ayurveda practitioners) and 86902 (Activities of Unani practitioners) as well as Section A (Agriculture, forestry and fishing) which has the sub-classes 01112 (Growing of jowar, bajra and millets), 01121 (Organic farming of basmati rice) and 01122 (Organic farming of non-basmati rice). Moreover, NIC 2008 has a higher number of activities at its most detailed level (sub-classes) compared to national systems in Europe and the United States: NOGA 2008 (Switzerland) has 794 activities, the UK SIC 2007 (United Kingdom) has 191, SBI 2008 (Netherlands) has 478 and the NAICS 2022 (United States) has 1012.

Section

Title

Divisions

Groups

Classes

Sub-classes

A

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

3

13

38

124

B

Mining and quarrying

5

10

14

53

C

Manufacturing

24

71

137

610

D

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

1

3

3

13

E

Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

4

6

8

11

F

Construction

3

8

11

39

G

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

3

20

43

124

H

Transportation and storage

5

11

20

50

I

Accommodation and food service activities

2

6

7

17

J

Information and communication

6

13

23

55

K

Financial and insurance activities

3

10

18

22

L

Real estate activities

1

2

2

2

M

Professional, scientific and technical activities

7

14

14

26

N

Administrative and support service activities

6

19

26

42

O

Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

1

3

7

11

P

Education

1

5

8

26

Q

Human health and social work activities

3

9

9

16

R

Arts, entertainment and recreation

4

5

10

18

S

Other service activities

3

6

17

31

T

Activities of households as employers; undifferentiated goods- and services producing activities of households for own use

2

3

3

3

U

Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies

1

1

1

1

Total

88

238

419

1304

Previous versions

NIC 2004

NIC 2004 operated in India from 2004 to 2014. It was the Indian adaptation of the United Nation's ISIC Rev. 3.1.

Changes between NIC 1998 and NIC 2004

The changes between NIC 1998 and NIC 2004 mirrored the changes between ISIC Rev. 3 and ISIC Rev. 3.1. This includes the addition of new classes in NIC 2004 such as 0501 (Fishing) and 0502 (Fish Farming) under group 050 (Fishing, operation of fish hatcheries and fish farms; service activities incidental to fishing); and classes 7221 (Software publishing) and 7229 (Other software consultancy and supply). Following suggestions from users, two new classes were also created under groups 171(Spinning, weaving and finishing of textiles), 172 (Manufacture of other textiles) and 271(Manufacture of basic iron and steel).

Structure of NIC 2004

NIC 2004 was structured hierarchically into five levels, as follows:

  • Sections: 17 sections denoted by English alphabets from A to Q. This was the broadest level in NIC 2004.

  • Divisions: 62 divisions represented by two-digit numeric codes.

  • Groups: 161 groups represented by three-digit numeric codes.

  • Classes: 310 classes represented by four-digit numeric codes.

  • Sub-classes: 1191 sub-classes represented by five-digit numeric codes. This was the finest level of detail in NIC 2004.

NIC 1998

NIC 1998 operated in India from 1998 to 2004. It was the Indian adaptation of ISIC Rev. 3.

Changes between NIC 1987 and NIC 1998

The changes between NIC 1987 and NIC 1998 reflected the switch from ISIC Rev. 2 to ISIC. Rev. 3. A prominent conceptual change was that in NIC 1998 the scale of operation ceased to be a basis for classification in the manufacturing sector. NIC 1998 also reorganized the classification hierarchy. While NIC 1987 has four levels, NIC 1998 had five levels with "Sections" replacing "Major Divisions" as the broadest categorization. With the addition of another level, the relevant four-digit activities of NIC 1987 were moved to the five-digit level of NIC 1998.

Structure of NIC 1998

NIC 1998 was structured hierarchically into five levels, as follows:

  • Sections: 17 sections denoted by English alphabets from A to Q. This was the broadest level in NIC 1998.

  • Divisions: 60 divisions represented by two-digit numeric codes.

  • Groups: 159 groups represented by three-digit numeric codes.

  • Classes: 292 classes represented by four-digit numeric codes.

  • Sub-classes: 1021 sub-classes represented by five-digit numeric codes. This was the finest level of detail in NIC 1998.

NIC 1987

NIC 1987 operated in India from 1987 to 1998 and was based on the United Nations ISIC Rev. 2.

Changes between NIC 1970 and NIC 1987

The changes between NIC 1970 and NIC 1987 were driven more by national realities rather than revisions to international standards. In NIC 1987 the four classification levels came to be known as Section, Division, Group, and Class instead of Division, Major Group, Group, and Subgroup as in NIC 1970. While there was no change at the one-digit level, NIC 1987 expanded at all other levels in order to accommodate activities that had gained importance at the time. Eight new divisions were created in NIC 1987, three each in the Mining and Quarrying section and the "Finance, Insurance, Real Estate and Business Services" section; and one each the Manufacturing and Electricity sections. The number of classes expanded substantially in NIC 1987. Unlike in NIC 1970 where only the Mining and Manufacturing sections had class-level detail, NIC 1987 had classes across all sections.

Structure of NIC 1987

NIC 1987 was structured hierarchically into four levels, as follows:

  • Sections: 9 sections represented by one-digit numeric codes. NIC 1987 also had a special section X for "Activities not Adequately Defined".

  • Divisions: 72 divisions represented by two-digit numeric codes.

  • Groups: 461 groups represented by three-digit numeric codes.

  • Classes: 918 classes represented by four-digit numeric codes. This was the most detailed level of classification in NIC 1987.

NIC 1970

NIC 1970 operated in India from 1970 to 1987. Adapted from of the United Nations ISIC Rev. 2, NIC 1970 was India's first harmonized national industrial classification system.

Structure of NIC 1970

NIC 1970 was structured hierarchically into four levels, as follows:

  • Divisions: 9 sections represented by one-digit numeric codes.

  • Major Groups: 64 major groups represented by two-digit numeric codes.

  • Groups: 383 groups represented by three-digit numeric codes.

  • Sub-groups: 590 classes represented by four-digit numeric codes.

Versions prior to NIC 1970

Before the release of NIC 1970 a variety of classification systems were used across the statistical system, including earlier versions if the ISIC. For example, the Directorate General of Employment and Training used a Standard Industrial Classification it developed in 1958 for its surveys of employment and unemployment. In the Annual Survey of Industries, two different classification systems were used for factories covered under the census and sample parts. The Indian Bureau of Mines used a classification of minerals based on ISIC Rev. 1 of 1958. In light of the variety of systems in use, NIC 1970 was released to provide a harmonized system for the collection of consistent national industrial statistics.

Where is it used?

  • Public sector use: NIC is widely used in India by the ministry of statistics and other government agencies in the presentation of national industrial statistics and other data releases. NIC codes determine the scope of government programs and regulations. Certain NIC codes for example are not covered under the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Act, 2006.

  • Private sector use: In the private sector, businesses and analysts can also use NIC codes for market research, to analyze industry trends, and make investment decisions.

Upcoming version

Following the release of ISIC Rev. 5 by the United Nations Statistics Division, India's ministry of statistics and program implementation might be looking to review NIC 2008 accordingly. However no official statement has been made in this regard.

Further resources

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