Data for the reference period of 365 days was collected in a pilot study on construction activities in unincorporated sector establishments and households conducted between July and December 2025.
At Rs 24.7 lakh, Tamil Nadu led among the states in GVA per market establishment, followed by Karnataka at Rs 11.9 lakh, and Jharkhand at Rs 11.9 lakh. A market establishment is one which provides most of its produced goods and/or services at an economically significant price.
During the reference period, an estimated 1.027 million establishments were engaged in the construction sector compared with 9.854 million households.
On average, an unincorporated construction builder employed about five workers during this period, with around 77% reporting the engagement of at least one hired worker on a fairly regular basis.
The number of workers per establishment was 4.8, higher in urban areas (5.5) than in rural areas (4.5).
The study’s findings were used to update rates and ratios for estimating key economic indicators in the construction sector under the new gross domestic product (GDP) series.Fixed assets per establishment stood at Rs 5.21 lakh, while outstanding loans were estimated at Rs 1.4 lakh.
Bricks, cement and iron and steel accounted for nearly half of total spending for establishments and about 60% for households. Expenditure on paint, varnish and lacquer was significantly higher among establishments and urban households than in the rural areas.
In terms of financing, 97% of households reported using their own income to fund construction, accounting for about 77% of the total expenditure. Around 21% relied on institutional loans, contributing roughly 17% of the total spending. Access to such loans was higher in rural areas at 23% compared with 13% for urban areas.