Monthly record, data month March 2026
BBR Index, March 2026
The Business Birth Rate Index (BBR Index) read 99.8 in March 2026, down 10.6 points from 110.4 in February 2026. India registered 22,320 new companies in the month, 992.0 per working day over 22.5 working days, and 9,489 limited liability partnerships (LLPs).
- BBR Index
- 99.8−10.6 points on February
- New companies
- 22,320−1,816 (−7.5%) on February
- Per working day
- 992.022.5 working days
- New LLPs
- 9,489−291 (−3.0%) on February
The reading
The BBR Index measures the pace of company births: new companies per working day, counted from the monthly incorporation files of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). An index of 100 equals the January to August 2026 average of 994.1 new companies per working day. A working day counts weekdays as one day and Saturdays as half a day; Sundays and days with no registrations count as none.
BBR IndexMarch 2026100 = January to August 2026 average
| Month | BBR Index | New companies | Working days | Per working day | New LLPs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2026 | 99.6 | 23,269 | 23.5 | 990.2 | 10,081 |
| February 2026 | 110.4 | 24,136 | 22 | 1,097.1 | 9,780 |
| March 2026 | 99.8 | 22,320 | 22.5 | 992.0 | 9,489 |
Sub-indices
Each sub-index is indexed to its own January to August 2026 average per working day (100). The Bharat sub-index starts in March 2026, the first full month after MCA split four offices of the Registrar of Companies (ROC) on 16 February 2026.
| Sub-index | Mar 2026 | Feb 2026 | Change, points | Registered in March |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tech | 95.5 | 102.2 | −6.7 | 3,550 companies |
| Green | 92.9 | 111.1 | −18.2 | 817 companies |
| Bharat | 105.0 | n/a | n/a | 8,858 companies |
| Non-profit | 107.6 | 101.6 | +6.0 | 1,788 companies |
| Foreign Entry | 99.8 | 104.2 | −4.4 | 187 companies |
| LLP | 97.7 | 103.0 | −5.3 | 9,489 LLPs |
What each sub-index covers
- Tech
- IT, software, data, telecom, electronics and R&D companies
- Green
- Power, water, waste and recycling companies plus solar, EV, storage and climate names
- Bharat
- Companies registered outside the big-metro ROC offices
- Non-profit
- Section 8 companies: not-for-profit companies licensed under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013
- Foreign Entry
- Foreign-owned subsidiaries plus foreign companies opening an Indian place of business
- LLP
- Limited liability partnerships
States and union territories
Maharashtra registered the most new companies among states in March 2026: 3,819, 17.11% of India's total. States are ranked among the twenty-seven states in the files and union territories only among union territories.
Top ten states
| Rank | State | New companies | Change on Feb 2026 | Share of India |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maharashtra | 3,819 | −175 (−4.4%) | 17.11% |
| 2 | Uttar Pradesh | 2,354 | −482 (−17.0%) | 10.55% |
| 3 | Tamil Nadu | 1,727 | +66 (+4.0%) | 7.74% |
| 4 | Karnataka | 1,580 | −214 (−11.9%) | 7.08% |
| 5 | Telangana | 1,561 | −170 (−9.8%) | 6.99% |
| 6 | Gujarat | 1,416 | +6 (+0.4%) | 6.34% |
| 7 | Haryana | 1,087 | −183 (−14.4%) | 4.87% |
| 8 | West Bengal | 1,022 | −2 (−0.2%) | 4.58% |
| 9 | Rajasthan | 869 | −66 (−7.1%) | 3.89% |
| 10 | Kerala | 801 | −10 (−1.2%) | 3.59% |
Every state and union territory has its own page: states and union territories. Sikkim and Ladakh have no companies in the MCA files, so neither is ranked. The file for March 2026 lists every state and union territory.
Union territories
| Rank | Union territory | New companies | Change on Feb 2026 | Share of India | Per million people | Momentum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delhi | 1,735 | −259 (−13.0%) | 7.77% | 79.8 | −6.0% |
| 2 | Jammu & Kashmir | 161 | −19 (−10.6%) | 0.72% | 11.5 | −7.4% |
| 3 | Chandigarh | 58 | +5 (+9.4%) | 0.26% | 46.7 | −9.1% |
| 4 | Puducherry | 42 | +18 (+75.0%) | 0.19% | 30.2 | Too few to measure |
| 5 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 6 | −4 (−40.0%) | 0.03% | n/a* | Too few to measure |
| 5 | Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 6 | +2 (+50.0%) | 0.03% | n/a* | Too few to measure |
| 7 | Lakshadweep | 0 | −2 (−100.0%) | 0.00% | n/a* | Too few to measure |
* Per million people is shown only for union territories with at least 1 million people. Momentum compares a union territory's share of India's new companies with its average share over up to three earlier months, and is shown only when it registered at least 50 new companies in the month.
Business birth rate
The business birth rate is new companies per million people (2024 projected population). In March 2026, Goa led the states with 45.5 and Delhi led the union territories with 79.8; India as a whole recorded 15.9. States and union territories are ranked separately, and places under 1 million people are not ranked.
States
| Rank | State | Per million people | New companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goa | 45.5 | 72 |
| 2 | Telangana | 40.8 | 1,561 |
| 3 | Haryana | 35.6 | 1,087 |
| 4 | Maharashtra | 29.9 | 3,819 |
| 5 | Karnataka | 23.2 | 1,580 |
| 6 | Tamil Nadu | 22.4 | 1,727 |
| 7 | Kerala | 22.3 | 801 |
| 8 | Gujarat | 19.6 | 1,416 |
| 9 | Uttarakhand | 17.9 | 211 |
| 10 | Himachal Pradesh | 12.1 | 91 |
Union territories
| Rank | Union territory | Per million people | New companies |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Delhi | 79.8 | 1,735 |
| 2 | Chandigarh | 46.7 | 58 |
| 3 | Puducherry | 30.2 | 42 |
| 4 | Jammu & Kashmir | 11.5 | 161 |
Sector of the Month
Sector of the Month starts in April 2026, the first month with three earlier months to compare against. By new companies, the largest sector in March 2026 was IT, software & telecom.
Records and milestones
Each record below was the highest (or lowest) in 2026 up to March 2026; the status shows where it stands in the data to August 2026.
- Busiest week of 2026 so far: week ending 15 March 2026: 7,565 companies (weeks run Monday to Sunday). Still the record.
- Busiest day of the month: 17 March 2026, 1,623 companies.
- Milestone passed: 50,000 companies in 2026 on 9 March 2026.
The Founders' League
The Founders' League season started in April 2026 with Matchday 1, so March 2026 has no matchday, crowns or derbies. The league ranks states against states on new companies and on the change in their share of India's new companies; union territories have their own table.
March 2026 registrations seeded the two divisions for the first season: the ten states with the most new companies formed the Premier Division and the next ten the Challenger Division. The other states play outside the divisions as Emerging states: Goa, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram and Sikkim.
Premier Division
- Maharashtra 3,819
- Uttar Pradesh 2,354
- Tamil Nadu 1,727
- Karnataka 1,580
- Telangana 1,561
- Gujarat 1,416
- Haryana 1,087
- West Bengal 1,022
- Rajasthan 869
- Kerala 801
Challenger Division
- Bihar 780
- Madhya Pradesh 727
- Andhra Pradesh 612
- Odisha 449
- Punjab 357
- Jharkhand 292
- Uttarakhand 211
- Assam 204
- Chhattisgarh 192
- Himachal Pradesh 91
Data and citation
Data files
The first file holds the March 2026 figures for every state and union territory. The other files cover the whole series and are updated after each Index Day. The data files are plain CSV with a header row; About the data files gives the source line and field notes.
- Every state and union territory, March 2026 (CSV, 5 KB): new companies, change on the previous month, share of India, ranks within each group and business birth rate
- BBR Index and sub-indices by month (CSV, 1 KB): every month from January 2026
- About the data files (text)
Cite this page
Business Birth Rate Index (BBR Index) by BizExpress, monthly record for March 2026, https://bizexpress.in/business-birth-rate/2026-03/. Based on Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) monthly incorporation data.
Free to republish with credit to the BBR Index by BizExpress. The methodology explains every measure on this page; the BBR Index page has the latest reading and The Founders' League the latest tables.