§1What this business is
Plain glass and ceramic articles — tumblers, vases, bowls, plates — are made attractive by decorating them. The KVIC profile covers screen printing, etching, sand blasting, carving and cutting. You buy the plain ware, decorate it, and sell to gift shops, crockery dealers and corporate-gift buyers.
Capacity: 1,20,000 a year at ₹63 each (production value ₹75.42 L in the profile).
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
Someone with an eye for design near a glass hub such as Firozabad, or with gift-shop contacts.
Who it is not for
Someone who cannot afford ₹12 L tied up in stock.
Advantages
- Adds design value to cheap plain ware
- Low machinery cost (₹4.20 L)
- Gift and festival demand all year
- Custom logos for corporate orders
Drawbacks
- Breakage in handling and transport
- Needs design sense to stand out
- Heavy working capital in glass stock
- Competition from imported decorated ware
Skills you need
- Screen printing and etching
- Design and colour sense
- Careful packing
- Selling to gift and crockery shops
Why difficulty 3/5: Low machine cost, but design, breakage and stock control decide profit.
§3Market
Who buys
- Gift shops and crockery dealers
- Corporate and festival gift buyers
- Households buying decorative ware
How it sells
- Wholesale crockery markets
- Direct corporate orders
- Gift and home-décor retailers
Good to know
- Decoration adds 'value and aesthetic value' to plain ware (profile).
- The profile notes cost and profit change with area, raw material, manpower and power.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Air compressor | 1 | — |
| Exposing cabinet | 1 | — |
| Spray printing equipment | 1 | — |
| Flat-bed screen-printing machine | 1 | — |
| Screen-printing tools, lamps, scissors, hammers, squeegee | 1 lot | — |
| Grinding machine | 1 | — |
| Cutting machine | 1 | — |
| Electrification, installation, office equipment and work tables | 1 lot | — |
| All equipment above (profile total) | 1 set | ₹4.20 lakh |
From: KVIC Project Profile — DECORATIVE GLASSWARE (PMEGP)
- Plain glass and ceramic wareraw material ₹67.00 L a year at full capacity
- Labels and packing material₹25,000 a year
From: KVIC Project Profile — DECORATIVE GLASSWARE (PMEGP)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
Centre for the Development of Glass Industry (CDGI), Firozabad · Firozabad →Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CSIR-CGCRI), Kolkata · Kolkata →
In our raw material database
Soda ash (sodium carbonate) →LPG (industrial / commercial) →Glass cullet (broken glass for remelting) →
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam
- GST
- State Pollution Control Board consent (etching acids and sand blasting dust)
- Trade licence
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
PMEGP (mineral-based industry), MUDRA up to ₹20 L, CGTMSE; Stand-Up India for SC/ST/women founders.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: KVIC profile: equipment ₹4,20,000 (compressor, exposing cabinet, spray printing, screen-printing machine and tools, grinding and cutting machines, electrification, office tables) + working capital ₹12,00,000 = ₹16,20,000. Land own; workshed not costed.
Working capital: Working capital ₹12.00 L — most of the money goes into plain glassware stock (raw material ₹67.00 L a year).
Year not printed on the KVIC profile — check current machinery prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: Not verified yet
- HS codes are from the WCO HS 2022 list; confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
- You need an Import Export Code (IEC) from DGFT before the first shipment.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Breakage losses
- Design copying
- Unsold seasonal stock
- Fumes and dust from etching and sand blasting
§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan
A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.
- Days 1–30: Visit a working decorative glassware unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam, GST), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
- Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.
§11Who to connect with
Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start Decorative Glassware?
DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.
¶Sources
Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.