The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For water well drilling, that activity is 42206.
NIC code · National Industrial Classification 2008
42206 is the 5-digit NIC 2008 code for water well drilling: a sub-class of class 4220, construction of utility projects, within division 42, civil engineering. Search a code or activity below, or copy the code for your Udyam or SPICe+ form.
This code
Division 42Group 422Class 4220Sub-class 42206
Water well drilling
Sub-class 42206 · Class 4220 · Group 422 · Division 42 · Section F, NIC 2008
The code
Where the code sits in the National Industrial Classification 2008, from section to sub-class, in the official wording.
422065 digits: 42 + 2 + 0 + 6NIC 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 42206. 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 42 covers civil engineering. It sits in section F, construction.
Construction of utility projects.
Construction of utility projects. The official note for this class is quoted below.
Water well drilling. The full 5-digit code you enter where a form asks for the business activity by NIC code.
What it covers
42206 is a sub-class of class 4220, construction of utility projects. The NIC 2008 document explains the class in the note below, quoted exactly.
This class excludes:
- - project management activities related to civil engineering works, see 7110
Where you use it
Two registration forms ask for the business activity by NIC code. This is where 42206 is entered.
The MSME registration asks for the business activity by NIC code. For water well drilling, that activity is 42206.
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
42206 is for water well drilling. The codes below sit closest to it in NIC 2008: the other sub-classes of class 4220. Each has its own page with the official wording.
42209Class 4220 · another sub-class of the same class42201Class 4220 · another sub-class of the same class42202Class 4220 · another sub-class of the same class42203Class 4220 · another sub-class of the same class42204Class 4220 · another sub-class of the same classClass 4220 has 7 sub-classes in NIC 2008, including 42206. 5 of the others are shown here.
Questions
Water well drilling, in the National Industrial Classification 2008. It is a sub-class of class 4220, construction of utility projects.
Class 4220, construction of utility projects, has 7 sub-classes in NIC 2008. Besides 42206, those with a page here are: 42209 (Construction of utility projects n.e.c.); 42201 (Construction and maintenance of power plants); 42202 (Construction/erection and maintenance of power, telecommunication and transmission lines); 42203 (Construction of long distance pipelines or urban pipelines); 42204 (Construction and maintenance of water main and line connection, water reservoirs including irrigation system (canal)).
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 4220, 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.