§1What this business is
Parboiled rice is sun-dried, dehusked and polished, soaked in salt water for 6–7 hours, drained and sun-dried for about an hour, then heated at 110 °C so it puffs, cooled and packed. Murmura is eaten as bhel, chivda and prasad and sold loose and in packets through kirana shops, snack makers and wholesalers.
Capacity: 369 quintals of murmura a year (KVIC profile).
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A rural entrepreneur near rice mills who wants a small family business.
Who it is not for
Someone looking for a high-income business.
Advantages
- Very low investment
- Simple, well-known process
- Steady demand from snack makers and kirana
- Festival and prasad demand
Drawbacks
- Very low price per kg
- Profit in the old profile is small
- Smoke and heat from the bhatti
- Many small competitors
Skills you need
- Soaking and roasting control
- Hygienic packing
- Selling to wholesalers and snack makers
- Buying rice at the right time
Why difficulty 1/5: Easy to learn and cheap to start; margins are thin.
§3Market
Who buys
- Households
- Namkeen and bhel makers
- Temples and festival buyers
How it sells
- Kirana shops
- Wholesalers in grain markets
- Snack makers in bulk
Good to know
- The profile calls puffed rice one of the most popular fast foods in the country.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment set: dehusker, iron drum, bhatti (furnace), sieves, packing machine, weighing balance | 1 set | ₹1,00,000 |
From: KVIC Project Profile — Murmura Manufacturing Unit (PMEGP)
- Parboiled paddy / riceraw material ₹1,00,000 a year in the KVIC profile
- Saltfor the brine soak
- Labels and packing material₹25,000 a year in the profile
From: KVIC Project Profile — Murmura Manufacturing Unit (PMEGP)
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
Puffed Rice Cluster · Baleshwar →Global Puffed Rice Cluster, Chitradurga · Chitradurga →
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- FSSAI registration or licence
- Udyam
- GST (if turnover crosses the limit)
- State Pollution Control Board consent (bhatti smoke)
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- PMFMECentralUnclear35% subsidy, up to ₹10 lakh
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
PMEGP (this is a KVIC/PMEGP profile), PMFME (micro food processing) and MUDRA fit.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: KVIC profile: total ₹3,55,000 = building shed (1,000 sq ft) ₹2,00,000 + equipment ₹1,00,000 (dehusker, iron drum, bhatti, sieves, packing machine, weighing balance) + working capital ₹55,000. Land own.
Working capital: Working capital ₹55,000; raw material ₹1,00,000 and packing ₹25,000 a year in the profile.
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: APEDA
- Check the exact 8-digit line in ITC(HS) before shipping.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Rice price rises
- Moisture making murmura soft
- Low margins
- Food-safety complaints
§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 murmura (puffed rice) unit unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (FSSAI registration or licence, Udyam), 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 Murmura (Puffed Rice) Unit?
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.