§1What this business is
Wood pulp is pulverised, pressed into pads, wrapped in non-woven fabric with a plastic back sheet, sealed, gummed with a release paper and sterilised under UV light before packing. The report sizes the line at 50 pieces a minute. It targets rural and low-income women who cannot afford branded pads, as well as schools, NGOs and chemists.
Capacity: 50 pieces a minute, 18,000 a day, 43,20,000 a year; year 1 at 50% = 21,60,000 pieces.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A woman entrepreneur, SHG or NGO with reach into schools, villages and health workers.
Who it is not for
Someone who plans to fight big brands in city supermarkets.
Advantages
- Real social need, especially in villages
- Small space and small machines
- Bulk buyers: schools, NGOs, government programmes
- Good fit for women self-help groups
Drawbacks
- Big brands dominate shops and TV
- Low price per piece means volume selling
- Hygiene and quality must be strict
- Thin profit in the report (₹2.76 L in year 1)
Skills you need
- Hygienic production
- Quality testing (absorbency, leakage)
- Community and institutional sales
- Awareness work
Why difficulty 2/5: Simple machines; the challenge is quality, trust and reaching buyers.
§3Market
Who buys
- Rural and low-income women (the report's main target)
- Schools, hostels and NGOs
- Government health programmes
How it sells
- Chemists and general stores
- Self-help groups and ASHA networks
- Institutional tenders
Good to know
- The report puts the Indian sanitary napkin market at US$ 511.5 million in 2018.
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Pulveriser (for pulp; one operator) | 1 | — |
| Napkin press machine | 1 | — |
| Napkin sealing machine (about 20 seconds a napkin) | 1 | — |
| Gumming set (manual, 500 napkins in 40 minutes) | 1 | — |
| UV sterilizer (18-gauge steel, three 12-inch UV tubes) | 1 | — |
| Whole machinery set (above) | 1 set | ₹5.50 lakh (transport extra) |
From: PMEGP sample project report — Sanitary Napkin Making (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
- Non-woven fabric, 18 GSM₹280 a kg; ₹0.08 a piece
- Plastic sheet, 15 GSM₹230 a kg; ₹0.06 a piece
- Super-absorbent pulp sheet₹220 a kg; ₹0.22 a piece
- Release paper, 35 GSM₹175 a kg; ₹0.09 a piece
- Wood pulp sheet₹0.10 a piece
From: PMEGP sample project report — Sanitary Napkin Making (prepared by Udyami/Samadhan)
§5Licences & registration
- GST and Udyam registration
- Licence from the State Drugs Control department (named in the report)
- BIS standard IS 5405 for sanitary napkins — follow it, and get certified if buyers or tenders ask
- EPR registration under the plastic and solid-waste rules
- Fire / pollution registration as required; trademark
§6Schemes & subsidies
- PMEGPCentralActive15–35% subsidy
- MudraCentralActiveLoan up to ₹20 lakh, no collateral
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
PMEGP and MUDRA fit; CGTMSE for a collateral-free loan; Stand-Up India suits women founders (loan from ₹10 L).
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Samadhan report: the summary page prints ₹6.99 L (plant and machinery ₹6.49 L + furniture ₹0.50 L); the cost table with working capital ₹3.33 L totals ₹10.32 L. The text puts the machinery set at ₹5.50 L before transport.
Working capital: Working capital ₹3.33 L; bank limit ₹3.00 L.
Year not printed on the report — check current machinery and raw-material prices.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
- Low-cost pads are bought by aid agencies for nearby countries; tenders ask for test reports.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Quality complaints harm trust fast
- Raw-material price rise
- Tender payments can be slow
- Disposal rules for used pads tightening
§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 sanitary napkin making unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (GST and Udyam registration, Licence from the State Drugs Control department (named in the report)), 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 Sanitary Napkin Making?
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.