§1What this business is
Fabric in different colours and designs is spread on a table, cut with scissors or a cloth-cutting machine to the size and shape of each article, stitched on power sewing machines (with picot or embroidery work where needed), pressed and packed. Buyers are garment shops, school-uniform suppliers, corporate and gift buyers.
Capacity: 1,00,000 neckties and 8,700 dozen handkerchiefs a year.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A tailor or garment trader with contacts in school-uniform or corporate supply.
Who it is not for
Someone who cannot fund cloth stock and wages ahead of sales.
Advantages
- Simple stitching work
- Low equipment cost
- School and corporate orders come in bulk
- Many jobs for local tailors
Drawbacks
- Thin margin over cloth and wages
- Cheap factory-made ties compete
- Heavy working capital
- Seasonal school demand
Skills you need
- Cutting and stitching
- Fabric buying
- Team supervision
- Bulk order sales
Why difficulty 2/5: Easy to make; margin depends on bulk orders and tight cost control.
§3Market
Who buys
- Garment and men's-wear shops
- School-uniform suppliers
- Companies and gift buyers
How it sells
- Wholesale cloth markets
- Direct orders from schools and offices
- Retail shops
Good to know
- The profile says the trend of wearing ties is increasing and every person needs handkerchiefs.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment set: power sewing machines, picot/embroidery machine, straight-knife cloth cutting machine with motor, measuring tools, scissors, electric iron, cutting tables, stools, wooden racks, office furniture, erection | 1 set | ₹2,15,000 |
From: KVIC Project Profile — Neck-ties & Handkerchiefs (PMEGP)
- Fabric in different colours and designsraw material ₹19,65,000 a year in the KVIC profile
- Labels and packing material₹25,000 a year
From: KVIC Project Profile — Neck-ties & Handkerchiefs (PMEGP)
§5Licences & registration
- Udyam
- GST
- Trade licence
- Shop and establishment or factory registration (as applicable)
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
PMEGP (this is a KVIC/PMEGP profile), MUDRA and CGTMSE fit.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: KVIC profile: total ₹7,65,000 = equipment ₹2,15,000 (power sewing machines, picot/embroidery machine, straight-knife cloth cutting machine with motor, measuring tools, scissors, electric iron, cutting tables, stools, wooden racks, office furniture) + working capital ₹5,50,000. Land own; no shed cost shown.
Working capital: Working capital ₹5,50,000 — much more than the equipment, because cloth (₹19.65 L a year) and wages (₹8.64 L a year) must be paid before sales come in.
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: AEPC
- Apparel exports are promoted by the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC).
§9Risks — where people fail
- Cloth price rises
- Late payment on bulk orders
- Unsold designs
- Worker turnover
§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 neckties and handkerchiefs unit 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 Neckties and Handkerchiefs 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.