§1What this business is

Water is collected from approved points on rivers like the Ganga at Haridwar or Gangotri, filtered (UV/RO/ozone), filled in food-grade tamper-evident bottles of 100 ml to 1 litre, labelled in several languages and shipped to temples, diaspora communities and online buyers. It is a small, low-machinery packing business.

Capacity: Year 1 plan: 50,000 bottles of 100 ml, 30,000 of 250 ml and 10,000 of 1 litre.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone in Haridwar, Rishikesh or near Gangotri with links to temples, pilgrims and NRI groups.

Who it is not for

Someone who cannot get collection permission or guarantee authenticity.

Advantages

  • Very small investment and simple equipment
  • Steady devotional demand in India and abroad
  • High price per litre for a packed product
  • Can be set up in 3–4 months

Drawbacks

  • Collection needs local permission at approved points
  • Product safety and labelling must be handled carefully
  • Faith-based market; trust and authenticity are everything
  • Export shipping of liquids is costly

Skills you need

  • Hygienic filling and sealing
  • Export documentation
  • Building trust with temples and diaspora groups
  • Online selling

Why difficulty 2/5: Small and quick to start, but needs permissions and trust-building.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Temples in India and abroad
  • Diaspora communities
  • Devotees buying online

How it sells

  • Temple and community partnerships
  • E-commerce platforms
  • Export through DGFT-registered channels

Good to know

  • The profile lists DGFT workshops, the Niryat Bandhu scheme, APEDA and FIEO as support for exporters.

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Filtration / purification unit (UV, RO or ozone)——
Bottle filling and sealing equipment——

From: Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Holy Water Export Unit

  • Water from approved collection pointse.g. the Ganga at Haridwar or Gangotri
  • Food-grade tamper-evident bottles100 ml to 1 litre
  • Multilingual labels and packagingwith anti-counterfeit features

From: Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Holy Water Export Unit

§5Licences & registration

  1. Udyam registration
  2. GST registration
  3. IEC for export
  4. FSSAI licence and BIS certification if sold as packaged drinking water
  5. Local municipality permit for the collection site
  6. Pollution clearance if applicable

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

PMEGP and MUDRA fit this ₹11 lakh unit; CGTMSE gives collateral-free cover.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: DUY profile cost ₹11.00 lakh: premises and rent ₹0.50 lakh, machinery and purification system ₹3.00 lakh, bottles and packaging ₹1.00 lakh, working capital for 6 months ₹6.00 lakh, preoperative and licensing ₹0.50 lakh. Finance: own ₹4.40 lakh, bank loan ₹6.60 lakh.

Working capital: ₹6.00 lakh for 6 months — over half the project cost.

Year not printed on the DUY profile — check current machinery and material prices.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

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

2201Waters, including natural or artificial mineral waters and aerated waters, not containing added sugar or flavour
  • Check the importing country's rules — some treat it as drinking water and need food-safety documents.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Permission at the collection site withdrawn
  • Fake 'holy water' in the market
  • Leaking or broken bottles in transit
  • Rule changes on packaged water

§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 holy ganga water bottling and export 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 registration, GST registration), 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 Holy Ganga Water Bottling and Export?

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

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. Uttarakhand DUY project profile — Holy Water Export Unit

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