Industrial census to be held next fiscal
KATHMANDU, MAR 13 -
The Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) has begun making preparations to conduct an industrial census in the next fiscal year 2012-13. The 10th count of industrial enterprises will collect information from firms employing more than 10 persons.
The census will give a clear picture of the industrial establishments operating in the country including number, employment, wages and salaries, value of input and output, value addition, value of fixed assets and the average output to input ratio, among others.
CBS director Rudra Suwal said the census would give a clear picture of the manufacturing units as their status remains unknown after they are registered at the Department of Industry. The census will obtain details at the national and district levels.
The survey, which is carried out every five years, is expected to be useful for planning, policy formulation, monitoring and research purposes. According to the survey conducted in 2006-07, there were 3,446 manufacturing units employing 169,891 persons.
The number of manufacturing units represented an increase of 7.2 percent over the 2001-02 figure. However, the number of employees was down 7.5 percent.
“The upcoming industrial census will not only take into account the existing factories but also new and emerging manufacturing sectors,” said Suwal.
“For classification purposes, we have adopted the international standard set by the United Nations to incorporate both the existing and emerging areas in the industrial sector.”
The CBS plans to send out its enumerators to collect data around October next year. “Currently, we are preparing the questionnaires and instructional manuals for the census.”
The CBS is also discussing making a list of industries to be included in the count so that its staff will be better prepared when they go out into the field. It had conducted a survey of small industries in 2008-09.
