The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For growing of cotton, that activity is 01161.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
01161 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for growing of cotton: a sub-class of class 0116, growing of fibre crops, within division 01, crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 01Group 011Class 0116Sub-class 01161
Growing of cotton
Sub-class 01161 · Class 0116 · Group 011 · Division 01 · Section A, NIC 2008
The code
Where the code sits in the National Industrial Classification 2008, from section to sub-class, in the official wording.
011615 digits: 01 + 1 + 6 + 1NIC 2025 · Notice dated 16 October 2026
On 18 November 2025 the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released NIC 2025, which uses 6-digit codes aligned with the UN's ISIC Revision 5. This page shows the NIC 2008 code 01161. The matching NIC 2025 code will be added here once it is mapped from MoSPI's official concordance.
How to read it
An NIC code is built in layers. Each digit narrows the one before it: the division, the group, the class, and finally the 5-digit sub-class. Divisions themselves are grouped under lettered sections.
The broadest numbered layer. Division 01 covers crop and animal production, hunting and related service activities. It sits in section A, agriculture, forestry and fishing.
Growing of non-perennial crops.
Growing of fibre crops.
Growing of cotton. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 01161 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For growing of cotton, that activity is 01161.
The company incorporation form asks for the main industrial activity of the proposed company by NIC code.
Not GST. GST registration does not use NIC codes; goods and services there are classified by HSN and SAC codes.
Choosing the right code
01161 is for growing of cotton. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 0116. Each has its own page with the official wording.
Class 0116 has 3 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 01161. 1 of the others are shown here.
Questions
Growing of cotton, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 0116, growing of fibre crops.
Class 0116, growing of fibre crops, has 3 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 01161, those with a page here are: 01162 (Growing of jute).
In Udyam Registration, which asks for the business activity by NIC code, and in the SPICe+ company incorporation form, which asks for the main industrial activity by NIC code. GST registration does not use NIC codes.
About this page
The section, division, group, class and sub-class on this page are taken word for word from the official document “National Industrial Classification (All Economic Activities) 2008”, Central Statistical Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India.
This is reference information on the classification of a business activity. It is not advice on which code your own business should declare, and the official NIC document prevails if the two ever differ. A change in the classification, including the MoSPI concordance to NIC 2025, re-opens this page for checking.
Not sure which code fits your activity, or spotted a mismatch? Use the WhatsApp button on this page and tell us what the business sells and how.