§1What this business is
Customers order medicines, generic drugs, surgical items and health or cosmetic products through your website or mobile app and upload their prescription. A registered pharmacist checks the prescription before dispatch, and your delivery staff take the order to the door, with a quick-delivery option for urgent needs. Customers pay online or cash on delivery. You must work through a licensed retail or wholesale pharmacy, or partner with one, and tie up with drug companies for stock.
Capacity: Full-capacity revenue in the profile is ₹40.44 L a year (margins on medicines and products plus advertising and quick-delivery charges).
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A pharmacist or chemist-shop owner who wants to add home delivery and an app.
Who it is not for
Someone without a pharmacy licence or a pharmacist partner.
Advantages
- Medicines are needed every month by many families
- Hard-to-find medicines can be sourced and delivered
- Low fixed investment — mostly an app, vehicles and racks
- Generic medicines can give better margins
Drawbacks
- Strict drug rules — a pharmacist and drug licence are mandatory
- Large national e-pharmacies compete on discounts
- Delivery cost per order is high in small towns
- Year 1 runs at a loss in the profile
Skills you need
- Pharmacy law and prescription checking
- App and order management
- Delivery route planning
- Tie-ups with drug distributors
Why difficulty 3/5: The tech is simple, but drug-law compliance and competing with big e-pharmacies are hard.
§3Market
Who buys
- Families needing regular medicines
- Elderly and sick people who cannot visit a shop
- People looking for medicines not stocked locally
How it sells
- Own website and mobile app
- Quick-delivery service for urgent orders
- Advertising space sold on the portal
Good to know
- The profile adds advertising income (25 ads at ₹500 a month) and quick-delivery charges (100 orders at ₹55 a month).
- Full-capacity revenue in the profile is ₹40.44 L a year.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Website and mobile app (building) | 1 | ₹1,85,000 |
| Computers with Windows and MS Office | 3 | ₹81,000 |
| Delivery vehicles | 4 | ₹1,60,000 |
| Network installation | 1 | ₹5,000 |
| Storage racks and other furniture | 1 lot | ₹90,000 |
| Legal advice fee | 1 | ₹15,000 |
From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Online Medical Delivery Services (2018) — private guide — confirm locally
- Medicines, generic medicines, surgical items and cosmetic productsbought through tie-ups with pharmaceutical companies and distributors
- Portal and payment servicesportal AMC ₹18,500, payment-gateway AMC ₹1,300, app-store fees ₹2,500 and internet ₹700 a month
From: SIDBI Stand-Up Mitra project profile — Online Medical Delivery Services (2018) — private guide — confirm locally
§5Licences & registration
- Retail (and if needed wholesale) drug licence from the State Drugs Controller, with a registered pharmacist
- GST registration
- Udyam registration
- Shops & Establishment registration
- Check with the State Drugs Controller on current rules for online sale of medicines
§6Schemes & subsidies
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
The ₹8.07 L bank loan is within MUDRA; CGTMSE covers a loan without collateral.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Portal and mobile app ₹1,85,000 + computers, 4 delivery vehicles, network, racks, furniture and legal advice ₹3,51,000 + three months' working capital ₹5,39,400 = ₹10,75,400. No land or building (rented). Bank ₹8,06,550, promoter ₹2,68,850.
Working capital: Monthly running cost ₹1,79,800 (salaries ₹1,28,000, portal AMC and online charges ₹23,000, utilities ₹9,300, rent ₹15,000, other ₹4,500); three months kept as margin.
Prices from 2018 — machinery and running costs will be higher now.
§8Export potential
Export council / board: Not applicable
- A local service; there is no goods export.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Licence action for selling without a valid prescription
- Changes in rules for online sale of medicines
- Discount war with big platforms
- Expired or damaged stock
- India's e-pharmacy rules are still in draft (Drugs and Cosmetics Act amendment notified in draft in 2018); online sale of medicines is legally uncertain — sell only from a licensed retail pharmacy against valid prescriptions and check with the State Drugs Controller
§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 online medicine delivery service unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Retail (and if needed wholesale) drug licence from the State Drugs Controller, with a registered pharmacist, 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
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 Online Medicine Delivery Service?
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.