The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For Opencast mining of hard coal, that activity is 05101.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
05101 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for Opencast mining of hard coal: a sub-class of class 0510, mining of hard coal, within division 05, mining of coal and lignite. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 05Group 051Class 0510Sub-class 05101
Opencast mining of hard coal
Sub-class 05101 · Class 0510 · Group 051 · Division 05 · Section B, NIC 2008
The code
Where the code sits in the National Industrial Classification 2008, from section to sub-class, in the official wording.
051015 digits: 05 + 1 + 0 + 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 05101. 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 05 covers mining of coal and lignite. It sits in section B, mining and quarrying.
Mining of hard coal.
Mining of hard coal. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Opencast mining of hard coal. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
05101 is a sub-class of class 0510, mining of hard coal. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - lignite mining, see 0520
- - peat digging and agglomeration of peat, see 0892
- - test drilling for coal mining, see 0990
- - support activities for hard coal mining, see 0990
- - coke ovens producing solid fuels, see 1910
- - manufacture of hard coal briquettes, see 1920
- - work performed to develop or prepare properties for coal mining, see 4312
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 05101 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For Opencast mining of hard coal, that activity is 05101.
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
05101 is for Opencast mining of hard coal. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 0510. Each has its own page with the official wording.
05102Class 0510 · another sub-class of the same class05103Class 0510 · another sub-class of the same class05109Class 0510 · another sub-class of the same classClass 0510 has 4 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 05101.
Questions
Opencast mining of hard coal, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 0510, mining of hard coal.
Class 0510, mining of hard coal, has 4 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 05101, they are: 05102 (Belowground mining of hard coal); 05103 (Cleaning, sizing, grading, pulverizing, compressing etc. of coal); 05109 (Other operations relating to mining and agglomeration of hard coal).
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, and the explanatory note for class 0510, 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.