Census of Manufacturing Establishments 1996-1997

The first known exercise in collecting data on artisanship and processing of primary products was undertaken during the time of Rana Prime Minister Juddha Shumsher Rana. But, it was not a nationwide exercise. It was an effort to collect the information on artisanship and mapping the resources available in the vicinity of Kathmandu. Efforts to collect data on industrial activities on a regular basis started only after the formal establishment of the Central Bureau of Statistics as a national agency for collection, management and production of statistics under the Statistical Act, 1958. The first Census of manufacturing Establishments (CME) was carried out in 1964/65 (2022 B.S.). The second census was carried out 8 years later in 1972/73 (2030 B.S.) Thereafter, the CMEs have been carried out in every 5 years intervals. The years of implementation of the CMEs are given below :

First CME - 2022 (1964/65)
Second CME - 2030 (1972/73)
Third CME - 2034 (1976/77)
Fourth CME - 2039 (1981/82)
Fifth CME - 2044 (1986/87)
Sixth CME - 2049 (1991/92)

The CME 1996/97 is the seventh Census of Manufacturing Establishments of Nepal. As seen above, CME has been conducted in the Nepali year ending at 4 and 9. The CME covers all units that engaged 10 or more persons. These units may or may not use power or auto machines in their industrial operations. This coverage is adopted in CMEs since 1991/92. Before 1991/92, i.e., up to the fifth CME, it covers all manufacturing establishments engaging 10 or more persons or using auto machines irrespective of persons engaged.

Main Changes in the census procedures over the years
It has been about 3 decades since the process of census of manufacturing establishments were initiated in the country. There have been considerable changes in the census process and the census coverage. Some of the important changes are described below:

Definition / coverage:

From the very beginning establishments of certain size were covered in the census. The establishments engaging 10 or more persons or using mechanical power were covered till 5th Census. This meant use of automotive machines, irrespective of number of persons engaged qualified the establishment to be brought under the census. In 6th and this census, only the establishments that engaged 10 or more persons were brought within the ambit of the census. This led to the dropping of many units especially rice, dal and oil mills from the census coverage. This was done because it became almost impossible to identify all establishments that used machines. The use of machines was becoming popular even in very small units. Many new household operated units were found using mechanical power.

Data Processing:

The data processing of the first and second censuses was done entirely by hand. The manual processing meant a lot of time taken for bringing out the result and also difficulties associated with preparing the tables. From the third census, CBS started to use modern computing machines. At the initial stages involvement of programmers and processing experts were a must. It would take years to get the data processed and made ready for publication. With the growth of use of micro computers, now the processing time has become very short. Furthermore, the officials of the Bureau can do the processing using the standard statistical programs.

Classification of industries:

In the first four censuses, there was no standard industrial classification. The industries were classified by the CBS without using any internationally acceptable norm or criterion. The CBS first started to use the Industrial classification based on the Nepal Standard Industrial Classification (NSIC), which in turn is based on International Standard Industrial classification(ISIC) in the CME of 1986/87. So the CME was made internationally comparable since the 5th CME. The output tables and indicators of earlier CME could not be meaningfully compared at international levels. The Central Product Classification (CPC) developed by the UN was introduced in the census. So now census inputs and output have become internationally comparable.

Questionnaires and Information Coverage:

It is generally assumed that the census data from one census to another should be comparable. So the information collected and produced by and large has to remain the same. This is done to make the empirical comparison possible. But over the years some added information are collected. Mostly it has been associated with collection of data at disaggregated levels. But in Nepal, the items of data collection have undergone significant changes. The first census of 2022 had 9 main blocks of information enquiries namely, introductory information, capital employed, employment and wages, use of raw materials and semi finished goods, machinery and equipments, use of fuel and electricity, production and sales, miscellaneous expenses and miscellaneous receipts.

Details of this census results can be found in the reports (National, Regional and District) published by CBS in 1998.