The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For provision of literacy programmes for adults at primary level, that activity is 85103.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
85103 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for provision of literacy programmes for adults at primary level: a sub-class of class 8510, primary education, within division 85, education. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 85Group 851Class 8510Sub-class 85103
Provision of literacy programmes for adults at primary level
Sub-class 85103 · Class 8510 · Group 851 · Division 85 · Section P, NIC 2008
The code
Where the code sits in the National Industrial Classification 2008, from section to sub-class, in the official wording.
851035 digits: 85 + 1 + 0 + 3NIC 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 85103. 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 85 covers education. It sits in section P, education.
Primary education.
Primary education.
Provision of literacy programmes for adults at primary level. 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 85103 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For provision of literacy programmes for adults at primary level, that activity is 85103.
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
85103 is for provision of literacy programmes for adults at primary level. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 8510. Each has its own page with the official wording.
85104Class 8510 · another sub-class of the same class85109Class 8510 · another sub-class of the same class85101Class 8510 · another sub-class of the same class85102Class 8510 · another sub-class of the same classClass 8510 has 5 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 85103.
Questions
Provision of literacy programmes for adults at primary level, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 8510, primary education.
Class 8510, primary education, has 5 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 85103, they are: 85104 (Special education for handicapped students at primary lavel); 85109 (Other primary education activities n.e.c.); 85101 (Pre-primary education (education preceding the first level)); 85102 (Primary education (education at the first level)).
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.