The Quick Read
- Women-owned manufacturing MSMEs registered in Andhra Pradesh reported employment of 41,05,039 in 2025–26, according to data tabled in the Rajya Sabha.
- The corresponding figure was 1,31,949 in 2021–22, representing an increase of more than 30 times.
- The number of women-owned manufacturing MSMEs registered during 2025–26 stood at 75,432.
- The figures are self-reported through the Udyam Registration Portal and Udyam Assist Platform. They should not be read as independently audited job-creation totals.
- The growth points towards the employment potential of women-owned enterprises, provided they receive finance, market access and support to survive beyond registration.
Women-owned Manufacturing MSMEs in Andhra Pradesh lead the change
Women-owned manufacturing businesses in Andhra Pradesh are reporting an extraordinary rise in employment.
Official data placed before the Rajya Sabha shows that employment reported by women-owned MSMEs in Andhra Pradesh increased from 1,31,949 in 2021–22 to 41,05,039 in 2025–26. The latest figure is more than 30 times the level recorded five years earlier.
The rise was gradual at first. Reported employment reached 1,65,774 in 2022–23 and 2,90,595 in 2023–24. It then climbed to 12,27,899 in 2024–25 before crossing 41 lakh in 2025–26.
That trajectory places women-owned manufacturing enterprises at the centre of a compelling economic story. Women are not only seeking jobs. They are registering businesses, organising production and reporting employment for others.
The scale, however, demands careful interpretation.
What does the Rajya Sabha data show?
The figures were included in a response by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to a question on women-owned manufacturing MSMEs.
The Ministry said the data covers enterprises registered through the Udyam Registration Portal and Udyam Assist Platform. It describes the employment numbers as those reported by registered businesses, rather than employment independently verified through a separate establishment survey.
Andhra Pradesh recorded the following figures:
| Financial year | Women-owned manufacturing MSMEs registered | Employment reported |
|
2021–22 |
9,357 | 1,31,949 |
|
2022–23 |
16,254 |
1,65,774 |
| 2023–24 |
96,264 |
2,90,595 |
| 2024–25 | 2,69,068 |
12,27,899 |
|
2025–26 |
75,432 |
41,05,039 |
Registrations rose sharply before falling from 2.69 lakh in 2024–25 to 75,432 in 2025–26. Employment reported by the newly registered enterprises, however, increased substantially.
This unusual movement deserves further explanation from the Ministry. Changes in the coverage of the portals, reporting practices, bulk onboarding or data classification may have contributed to the jump. The parliamentary response does not provide enough detail to determine the exact cause.
The headline remains significant, but it should not be simplified into a claim that women entrepreneurs created 41 lakh fresh and verified jobs during the year.
Women-owned businesses can widen the employment circle
Even with that caution, the data strengthens an important economic argument.
When a woman starts and grows a business, the effect can extend beyond her own income. The enterprise may employ production workers, sales staff, accountants, distributors, transport providers and local suppliers. A small manufacturing unit can create work throughout its immediate economic network.
Evidence from India’s unincorporated sector also suggests that women-led establishments can become important sources of work for other women. The latest Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises found that nearly 72% of female-led establishments with hired workers employed at least one woman.
It is especially relevant because women often face barriers when entering businesses owned and managed mainly by men. Concerns around workplace safety, inflexible hours, recruitment bias and mobility can restrict their options.
A woman entrepreneur does not automatically create an inclusive workplace. She may, however, understand some of these constraints more directly and be better placed to build jobs around local realities.
Our analysis of the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises found that women’s business ownership is rising, particularly in manufacturing. The opportunity now lies in helping these enterprises hire, formalise and grow.
Registration is progress. Survival is the harder measure.
The Andhra Pradesh data also recorded an increase in closures among women-owned manufacturing MSMEs.
9 enterprises closed in 2021–22. The number rose to 31 in 2022–23, 52 in 2023–24, 132 in 2024–25 and 226 in 2025–26. The total remains small compared to the number registered, but the upward direction should not be ignored.
Many women-owned businesses remain micro-enterprises. They can begin with limited capital, a small customer base and little protection against delayed payments, weak demand or rising input costs.
Women may also struggle to provide collateral, navigate formal credit, establish distribution networks or win large procurement contracts. Business responsibilities frequently sit alongside unpaid care work.
India therefore gains little from celebrating registrations while allowing enterprises to remain too small or fragile to survive.
An earlier Change in Content examination of women-owned MSMEs in India found that women’s ownership falls as enterprises grow in size. Women remain far more visible in micro-units than in small and medium businesses. That is the scale gap policy must address.
Andhra Pradesh can build on the momentum
The Centre supports women-led enterprises through programmes such as the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises and the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme.
Women receive more favourable terms under PMEGP. They are eligible for a 35% margin-money subsidy in rural areas and 25% in urban areas, while their required contribution is lower than that of general-category applicants.
Credit support is valuable, but a manufacturing business needs more than a loan.
Women entrepreneurs also require:
- Affordable working capital
- Reliable electricity and industrial infrastructure
- Help with licences, taxation and compliance
- Product testing and quality certification
- Access to government and corporate procurement
- Digital sales and distribution support
- Technology upgrades
- Export guidance
- Timely payment from buyers
- Childcare and safe transport where required
State institutions can also publish clearer data on enterprise size, sector, district, employment type and business survival. That would help Andhra Pradesh understand whether its growth is concentrated in food processing, textiles, handicrafts, engineering, consumer goods or other manufacturing segments.
The strongest policy outcome would be more women-owned firms graduating from micro to small and from small to medium scale.
The Change Ahead: Back the Women Who Create Work
The Andhra Pradesh figures show why women’s entrepreneurship belongs within the employment conversation.
A woman who builds a manufacturing business creates economic agency for herself. When that enterprise grows, it can also create income for workers, suppliers and local communities.
Reported employment of more than 41 lakh is a striking number. It should prompt recognition, further verification and better policy support rather than unqualified celebration.
The next stage should focus on the quality and durability of this growth. Are these regular jobs? Are the businesses surviving, and are women gaining larger markets? And are micro-enterprises becoming stable employers?
India needs more women in employment. It also needs more women deciding where employment is created. Andhra Pradesh’s women entrepreneurs may be showing how closely those two ambitions can work together.
Editorial Note and Sources
This article is based primarily on data supplied by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in response to Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1696, answered on 3 August 2026. Employment figures refer to information reported by enterprises through the Udyam Registration Portal and Udyam Assist Platform and have not been independently audited by Change in Content. Portal registrations, reported employment and enterprise closures may be revised as official records are updated. This article is intended for editorial and informational purposes and does not constitute financial, investment or business advice.
Sources
- Rajya Sabha: Unstarred Question No. 1696, Women-owned Manufacturing MSMEs
- Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises: Udyam Registration
- Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises
- Khadi and Village Industries Commission: Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme
