MSME Udyam registrations: the 7 crore milestone and what the data shows

How many MSMEs are registered on Udyam?

The MSME Ministry reported over 7.83 crore registrations on the Udyam Registration Portal and the Udyam Assist Platform as of 28 February 2026 (PIB, cited 1 April 2026). Three months earlier, a Lok Sabha reply put the figure at about 7.22 crore as of 30 November 2025. The count crossed 7 crore in late 2025.

The total combines two channels. The Udyam Registration Portal, launched on 1 July 2020, is for enterprises with a PAN that meet the micro, small or medium definitions. The Udyam Assist Platform, launched in January 2023, lets informal micro enterprises without GST or PAN register through designated agencies so they can access priority-sector lending.

How have Udyam registrations grown year by year?

Annexure I of the 11 December 2025 Lok Sabha reply gives year-wise registrations across both platforms. Registrations climbed from 28.2 lakh in FY 2020-21 (nine months) to 85.2 lakh in FY 2022-23, then jumped to 2.49 crore in FY 2023-24, the first full year of the Udyam Assist Platform. FY 2024-25 added 2.06 crore, and FY 2025-26 had added 1.03 crore by 30 November 2025.

The FY 2023-24 spike is mainly the onboarding of informal micro units through the Udyam Assist Platform rather than a sudden surge in new formal businesses, so year-on-year comparisons across that boundary overstate the growth of GST-registered or PAN-based enterprises.

Which states have the most Udyam registrations?

Summing the state annexure from 1 July 2020 to 30 November 2025, Maharashtra leads with 94.3 lakh registrations, followed by Uttar Pradesh (78.0 lakh), Tamil Nadu (57.9 lakh), West Bengal (48.9 lakh) and Karnataka (46.7 lakh). Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana each have between 35 lakh and 45 lakh.

West Bengal's total is unusual: 27.6 lakh of its registrations came in FY 2023-24 alone, consistent with a large Udyam Assist drive that year. Telangana is the only large state where FY 2025-26 registrations to November (11.4 lakh) already exceed the previous full year (8.9 lakh).

The same December 2025 reply reported 665 SMEs listed on the BSE SME platform and 690 on NSE Emerge, although the ministry noted that MSME classification is not captured by stock exchanges. Listing remains rare compared with the 7 crore-plus registered base.

How have closures and deregistrations moved?

An earlier Lok Sabha reply on 6 February 2025 reported 5.89 crore registrations as of 31 January 2025, along with 71,178 cancelled or deregistered enterprises since 2020. Year-wise shutdowns rose from 175 in FY 2020-21 to 6,222, 13,290 and 19,828 in the next three years, and 31,663 in FY 2024-25 up to 29 January 2025. By 28 February 2026, the ministry put closures since 2020 at 1.37 lakh.

Rising deregistrations partly reflect a much larger base and partly enterprises that registered without ever operating. Even so, closures remain well under 1% of total registrations, at about 0.17% according to the ministry's March 2026 reply.

How quickly is the registered base growing now?

The official snapshots show the pace. Registrations stood at 5.89 crore on 31 January 2025, 7.22 crore on 30 November 2025 and over 7.83 crore on 28 February 2026. That is roughly 1.3 crore added in ten months to November 2025, and about 60 lakh more in the following three months.

At the state level, Telangana added 11.4 lakh registrations in FY 2025-26 up to November, already more than its 8.9 lakh in all of FY 2024-25. Maharashtra (13.3 lakh) and Uttar Pradesh (11.7 lakh) also posted large partial-year totals.

What is the composition: women-led, closures and jobs?

A Rajya Sabha reply reported 3,07,42,621 women-led enterprises registered across both platforms as of 28 February 2026, about 39% of the 7.83 crore total. Women-led enterprises qualify for up to 90% credit guarantee cover under CGTMSE, against 75% for others.

The ministry also told the Lok Sabha on 12 March 2026 that registered enterprises reported total employment of 34.50 crore as of 28 February 2026, and that 1.37 lakh MSMEs had closed their Udyam registration since 2020, about 0.17% of registrations. The ministry's replies we reviewed do not give a micro, small and medium split of the registered base, so we have not quoted one; micro enterprises are widely understood to be the overwhelming majority.

Reported employment has risen with registrations. The MSME Minister told the Rajya Sabha on 15 December 2025 that registered enterprises employed about 31 crore people; the 12 March 2026 reply put the figure at 34.50 crore. These are employment numbers declared by enterprises at registration, not survey-based estimates.

Who should register on Udyam?

Udyam registration is free, paperless and based on self-declaration with PAN and GST data. Classification uses composite criteria of investment in plant and machinery or equipment and turnover. Budget 2025-26 raised the limits: micro up to ₹2.5 crore investment and ₹10 crore turnover, small up to ₹25 crore and ₹100 crore, and medium up to ₹125 crore and ₹500 crore. Exports are excluded from turnover.

Registration unlocks priority-sector lending, collateral-free credit guarantees, government procurement preferences and protection against delayed payments under the MSMED Act, including the 45-day payment rule enforced through section 43B(h) of the 1961 Income-tax Act for buyers.