§1What this business is
A street light fitting, or luminaire, is the weatherproof lamp head fixed on a road pole. The unit melts aluminium alloy and casts the housing on a pressure die-casting machine, trims and grinds it, and fits a PCB carrying an array of LEDs, a driver circuit, a glass top and a rubber gasket. The LEDs are imported and soldered on at soldering stations. Poles are not made in the unit; they are bought when a customer wants installation. The report sizes the unit at 1,000 fittings a month sold at about ₹900 each. LED luminaires must be registered with BIS after testing in a recognised lab before they can be sold.
Capacity: 1,000 LED street light fittings a month (12,000 a year) on a single shift, 300 days; 60% capacity in year 1 and 80% in year 2.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
An electronics or electrical engineer who can handle tenders and has, or can hire, die-casting skill.
Who it is not for
Someone who expects quick payment from civic bodies or has no stomach for tender paperwork.
Advantages
- Towns, highways and factories are replacing sodium and mercury lamps with LED
- Own die-cast housing keeps cost and design in your hands
- The same line can make flood lights and high-bay fittings
- Modest outlay of about ₹61 L in a rented shed
Drawbacks
- Break-even is high at about 59% of capacity
- LEDs are imported, so cost moves with the exchange rate
- Municipal tenders are won on price and pay slowly
- BIS registration and lab test reports are needed for each model
Skills you need
- Aluminium pressure die casting
- PCB assembly and soldering
- LED driver design and testing
- Tender bidding and installation service
Why difficulty 3/5: Die casting plus electronics assembly, and sales depend on tenders and BIS registration.
§3Market
Who buys
- Municipal corporations and panchayats
- Highway departments and their contractors
- Factories, industrial estates and housing societies
- Sports complexes and electrical contractors
How it sells
- Government and municipal tenders
- Electrical contractors and dealers
- Direct supply with installation charged separately
Good to know
- The report prices an LED fitting at about ₹900.
- It says India has about 35 million street lights and that the Street Lighting National Programme, launched in January 2015, is replacing them with LED.
- The report asks for at least 50,000 hours of LED life and IP65 protection for the housing.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Horizontal cold-chamber pressure die-casting machine, 60 tonne, with control panel and 7.5 HP motor | 1 | ₹27,00,000 |
| Electrical resistance furnace for melting aluminium, 100 kg | 1 | ₹3,75,000 |
| Double-ended bench grinder, 1 HP | 1 | ₹55,000 |
| Pedestal grinder, 2 HP | 1 | ₹55,000 |
| Trimming machine (bell press) | 2 | ₹75,000 |
| Soldering stations | 3 | ₹90,000 |
| Vices, tables, fixtures, measuring instruments and gauges | LS | ₹2,00,000 |
| Testing laboratory equipment (chemical and physical testing) | LS | ₹3,00,000 |
From: DC-MSME import-substitution DPR — Street Light Fittings (2021)
- Aluminium alloy ingot1,000 kg a month at ₹150 a kg = ₹1,50,000
- Printed circuit boards1,000 a month at ₹30 = ₹30,000
- Electronic components including LEDs (per set)1,000 sets a month at ₹100 = ₹1,00,000; the LEDs are imported
- Glass tops1,000 a month at ₹20 = ₹20,000
- Rubber gaskets1,000 a month at ₹10 = ₹10,000
- Screws, nuts and fixtures₹5,000 a month
From: DC-MSME import-substitution DPR — Street Light Fittings (2021)
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam registration
- GST registration
- Factory licence
- BIS compulsory registration for LED luminaires (tested in a BIS-recognised lab)
- State Pollution Control Board consent for the aluminium melting and die-casting section
Start it in your state
Pick your state: today’s cost, central + state subsidy, raw material, land and help, on one page.
§6Schemes & subsidies
At ₹60.70 lakh the project is above PMEGP's ₹50 lakh ceiling for manufacturing. CGTMSE can back the term loan and working-capital limit without collateral.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Fixed capital ₹41,50,000 (machinery ₹33,50,000, tools and testing equipment ₹5,00,000, furniture ₹2,00,000, pre-operative ₹1,00,000) + recurring expenditure for 3 months ₹19,20,000 = ₹60,70,000. The shed is rented at ₹15,000 a month.
Working capital: Recurring cost is ₹6,40,000 a month (raw material ₹3,15,000, salaries ₹2,30,000, utilities ₹40,000, other ₹55,000); the report provides for 3 months, ₹19,20,000.
Prices from 2021 — check current machinery and LED component prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
- The report uses HS 94051090 for street light fittings.
- It was written to cut imports of these fittings; no export target is set for the unit.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Driver or LED failures inside the warranty period
- Delayed payments from municipal and government buyers
- Price wars with large brands and importers
- Water entering a poorly sealed housing
§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 led street light fittings (luminaires) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Udyam registration, GST registration), 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
§12Watch
There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.
Want to start LED Street Light Fittings (Luminaires)?
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.