§1What this business is

Seasoned mango, sheesham or jackfruit wood is cut into blocks, turned on a wooden lathe into barrels and carved. Leather or plastic heads are soaked, curled onto bamboo rings and fitted; a paste of stone powder, maida and engine oil is applied inside one head to set the tone. A 5–6 metre cotton rope is laced through metal rings to tighten the heads, and the artisan tests each piece. Amroha in UP is the main hub.

Capacity: 30 pieces a day (report assumption), 50% use in year 1.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone from a musical-instrument family or near Amroha who can manage artisans.

Who it is not for

Someone without access to skilled dholak makers.

Advantages

  • Very small investment (₹5.89 L)
  • Needed at every sangeet, kirtan, bhajan and folk event
  • Skilled artisans are available in Amroha
  • Simple tools; no heavy machinery

Drawbacks

  • Seasonal sales around weddings and festivals
  • Depends on hard-to-find skilled artisans
  • Price pressure from many small units
  • Leather heads need careful sourcing

Skills you need

  • Wood seasoning and turning
  • Head fitting and tuning
  • Managing artisans
  • Selling to music shops

Why difficulty 2/5: Low investment; the craft skill sits with artisans, so managing them is the key.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Musicians, bhajan and kirtan groups
  • Families for weddings, sangeet and festivals
  • Folk-dance troupes (bhangra, lavani)

How it sells

  • Musical-instrument shops and wholesalers
  • Direct orders from groups and events

Good to know

  • Amroha has around 300 small units making wooden drums, employing over 1,000 artisans (report).
  • The dholak is also used for bhajans and kirtans in Fiji (report).

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Wooden lathe1—
Drill machine1—
Scissors (for cutting leather)1 lot—
Pointed chisel1 lot—
Hand hacksaw1 lot—
Hand files1 lot—
All plant and machinery (report total)1 set₹3.75 lakh

From: PMEGP sample project report — Dholak Manufacturing Unit (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

  • Barrel-shaped wood — sheesham, mango or jackfruitbought from local markets; seasoned before use
  • Leather or plastic sheetsfor the heads and membrane
  • Metal rings, keys, sockets and hooksfor tightening and tuning
  • Cotton rope (5–6 m per dholak) and bamboo stripsrope laces the heads; bamboo makes the rings
  • Harika stone powder, maida starch and engine oilmixture applied to the head for tone

From: PMEGP sample project report — Dholak Manufacturing Unit (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam
  2. GST
  3. Trade licence

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMEGP and MUDRA fit; at ₹5.89 L it is close to UP's CM-YUVA range; CGTMSE for collateral-free cover.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: plant & machinery ₹3.75 L + other assets ₹0.25 L + working capital ₹1.89 L = ₹5.89 L; land and shed own/rented.

Working capital: Working capital ₹1.89 L (bank ₹1.70 L) — 15 days of raw material, 10 days of finished stock, 15 days' credit.

Year not printed on the sample report — check current machinery prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export

9206.00Percussion musical instruments (for example, drums, xylophones, cymbals, castanets, maracas)

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

  • Wood cracking from poor seasoning
  • Artisan shortage
  • Seasonal demand dips
  • Rules on leather sourcing

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

  1. Days 1–30: Visit a working dholak making unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam, GST), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
  3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

Not verified yet

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 Dholak Making?

DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. PMEGP sample project report — Dholak Manufacturing Unit (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.