Over 2L companies launched in India in 1 year
What's the story
India's corporate landscape has witnessed significant growth over the past year, with the addition of over two lakh active companies between June 2025 and June 2026. The total number of active companies now stands at 21.3 lakh, a whopping 10.8% increase from last year's figure of 19.2 lakh. This is not just the highest absolute increase in a decade but also the fastest percentage-wise growth in five years, according to Moneycontrol's analysis of Ministry of Corporate Affairs data.
Expanding reach
Growth in non-traditional business states
The corporate growth is not limited to traditional business and tech hubs.
States like Bihar, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have seen some of the fastest increases in active companies.
Rajasthan's active companies increased by 16% to 77,658 while Bihar saw an even bigger jump of 18% with around 49,500 active firms as of June this year.
UP's rise
Uttar Pradesh's rapid rise
Uttar Pradesh also recorded a growth of around 18%, taking its active companies count to about 1.87 lakh as of June 2026.
This makes it the third-largest state in terms of active companies, after Maharashtra and Delhi.
The growth is attributed to improved physical and digital infrastructure, regulatory easing, and the formalization of businesses, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs beyond established business centers.
Sectoral dominance
Services sector continues to dominate
The services sector continues to dominate India's corporate landscape, accounting for around two-thirds of all active companies.
As of June 2026, there were about 14.2 lakh active services companies in India, making up 66% of the total. The number of such firms grew by some 18% from last year.
Within this sector, a third provide business services while others are engaged in trading (around three lakh), real estate (around one lakh), and financial services (more than 80,000).
Sluggish pace
Manufacturing and agriculture-related firms lag behind
Unlike the services sector, manufacturing companies have seen a slower growth rate.
Over the last year, India added some 30,000 active manufacturing companies to take the total to about four lakh, an increase of roughly 7%.
Agriculture-related firms also witnessed muted growth, with their numbers rising by around 6% to reach 92,980 as of June this year.