- Why in news
- On 10 April 2026, MoSPI released the technical report of an NSO pilot study on construction in the unincorporated sector and on household own-account construction.
- What it is
- This is an NSO pilot study on construction by unincorporated establishments and by households building for their own use. It was run alongside the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2025 in the same first stage units. It fills a data gap, as the incorporated segment of construction is to be covered by the new ASISSE.
- Who and what
- NSO under MoSPI did the first such effort in decades to estimate key indicators for unincorporated construction and own-account household construction.
- Link to ASUSE
- The pilot ran with ASUSE 2025 in the same FSUs, from July to December 2025.
- Use in national accounts
- Findings helped the National Accounts Division update rates and ratios for construction in the new series of national accounts.
- Coverage
- Construction was defined as NIC 2008 two-digit codes 41, 42 and 43.
Don’t confuse with ASUSE vs ASISSE: ASUSE covers unincorporated enterprises. ASISSE is the new annual survey of incorporated services sector enterprises, which is to cover incorporated construction.
Don’t confuse with GVA vs NVA: GVA is output minus intermediate consumption. NVA is GVA minus depreciation (consumption of fixed capital).
Reports and indices: 14 Prelims questions since 2013; they test who publishes a report and what it measures.
Why it matters
- Better data on a large informal sector improves GDP and employment estimates.
- Data on credit and labour shows how informal builders and households finance and staff construction.
Problems
- It is a pilot with a modest sample, and recall over 365 days from oral enquiry can be inaccurate.
- Informal builders are hard to list and measure, and spending thresholds exclude small works.
Way forward
- Scale the pilot into a regular survey and fold it into ASUSE rounds.
- Use the state-level insights for housing, credit and labour policy.
Put in your answer
Household finance: About 97% of households used their own income, covering about 77% of construction spending.
Informal employment: About 77% of establishments regularly hired at least one worker.
- 2023Mains GS3 · Q11Examine the methodology for computing unemployment in India and suggest improvements.
- 2017Mains GS4 · Q13Ethical response to a illegal building collapse killing migrant construction labourers.
UPSC’s own questions that come close to this issue, from our Prelims and Mains banks.
No practice question for this one; the card may still help an answer. Why: First such NSO estimate in decades on a lasting economy topic; routine survey data rarely set, so no question.
Worth revising until Prelims 2027: most news questions come within two years of the event.