With a whopping 39,512 factories in FY22, Tamil Nadu had the highest number of factories in India, according to the Annual Survey of Industries, recently released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
However, regarding industrial output, Gujarat emerges as the frontrunner, relegating Tamil Nadu to a modest third position nationally.
The ASI data shows that 15.8 per cent of India’s factories are in Tamil Nadu, while 11.9 per cent are in Gujarat.
However, the latter leads in industrial prowess, as 18.01 per cent of the total factory output in the country comes from the state (worth ₹21.48 lakh crore). It is followed by Maharashtra, which accounts for 13.97 per cent. Tamil Nadu’s factory output is worth ₹11.6 lakh crore, 9.73 per cent of the country’s total output.
While Tamil Nadu employs the highest share of workers in its factories, the capital investment is quite low - ₹60,745.53 crore. This means the state’s share in the total fixed capital in the country is just 8 per cent. On the other hand, Gujarat appears to be investing more in its factories, with an 18.4 per cent share of the total fixed capital in factories. Maharashtra comes next in capital investment (12.13 per cent), followed by Odisha (8.4 per cent) and Tamil Nadu.
Of closed factories
The ASI report also points out that in FY22, 20 per cent of India’s factories, close to 50,000, were not operational. A closer look at the numbers shows that in states with the most industries, close to a quarter of them are not operational.
Among India’s top ten states with the most number of factories, 35 per cent of Andhra Pradesh’s factories -- 4,418 of them -- aren’t functional. In Karnataka, 27 per cent of them are non-operational -- 3,026 factories.
The most industrialised state in the country, Tamil Nadu, also tops the chart for housing the highest number of non-operational factories - 7,906. That is a quarter of the state’s total number of factories. Gujarat has 6,431, and Maharashtra has 5,978 .