The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For special education for handicapped students at first stage or second stage of secondary level, that activity is 85213.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
85213 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for special education for handicapped students at first stage or second stage of secondary level: a sub-class of class 8521, general secondary 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 852Class 8521Sub-class 85213
Special education for handicapped students at first stage or second stage of secondary level
Sub-class 85213 · Class 8521 · Group 852 · 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.
852135 digits: 85 + 2 + 1 + 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 85213. 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.
Secondary education.
General secondary education. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Special education for handicapped students at first stage or second stage of secondary level. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
85213 is a sub-class of class 8521, general secondary education. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class also includes Senior/Higher secondary education
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 85213 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For special education for handicapped students at first stage or second stage of secondary level, that activity is 85213.
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
85213 is for special education for handicapped students at first stage or second stage of secondary level. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 8521 and other classes in group 852. Each has its own page with the official wording.
85211Class 8521 · another sub-class of the same class85212Class 8521 · another sub-class of the same classClass 8521 has 3 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 85213.
These belong to other classes in group 852, secondary education. 85213 itself is in class 8521. Use the search above for any other code on this page.
Questions
Special education for handicapped students at first stage or second stage of secondary level, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 8521, general secondary education.
Class 8521, general secondary education, has 3 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 85213, they are: 85211 (General school education in the first stage of the secondary level (up to Xth standard) without any special subject pre-requisite); 85212 (General school education in the second stage of the secondary level (Senior/ Higher secondary) giving, in principle, access to higher education).
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 8521, 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.