NEW DELHI: The country has more than 18 lakh registered companies but only 62 per cent of them were actively functioning at the end of October, according to official data.

The majority of active companies were engaged in business services.

With more than 6.46 lakh companies shuttered and many others undergoing various regulatory processes, including liquidation, the total number of active entities stood at 11.16 lakh during the period.

Latest data from the corporate affairs ministry showed that there were a little over 18.10 lakh registered companies at the end of October.

In terms of total registered companies, nearly 62 per cent of them were active last month.

Entities are required to get registered under the Companies Act, which is implemented by the ministry, to function as companies.

Among the total number of registered companies, 6.46 lakh entities were shut down and 39,736 companies were in the process of being deregistered.

“Out of the 6,46,882 closed companies, 10,574 companies were liquidated/ dissolved; 6,00,048 companies were declared defunct…,” the ministry said in its information bulletin for the month of October.

As many as 9,565 companies were converted to Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs).

Out of the 11.16 lakh active companies, the ministry said, a little over 11.09 lakh entities were limited by shares.

“Out of the companies limited by shares, 64,547 were public, 1,044,806 were private including 19,555 one person companies. Among the public limited companies, 6,960 were listed,” it added.

At October end, Maharashtra had the highest number of registered companies (3.59 lakh), followed by Delhi (3.26 lakh), and West Bengal (1.98 lakh).

In terms of economic activities, 3.57 lakh active companies were engaged in business services while 2.23 lakh firms were into manufacturing.

Business services includes information technology, research & development and other business activities such as law, audit and accounts.