§1What this business is
Raw cotton is opened and cleaned, boiled in a kier with caustic soda, soda ash and detergent for 3–4 hours to remove natural wax, washed, bleached with hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide, neutralised with dilute acid, spun dry in a hydro-extractor, dried, made into laps, carded and rolled with paper, then weighed, cut, labelled and sealed in polythene. The profile notes that absorbent cotton is covered by drug-control law.
Capacity: 300 tonnes of absorbent cotton a year (₹71,000 a tonne) plus 25 tonnes of cotton waste (₹7,000 a tonne) — ₹2.15 crore. The cover page wrongly prints 300 tonnes 'per month' and ₹21.47 lakh.
§2Is it right for you?
Who it is for
A textile or pharma entrepreneur in a cotton area who can run a regulated factory.
Who it is not for
A first-time founder without capital for a boiler, effluent treatment and licensing.
Advantages
- Steady demand from hospitals, nursing homes, dispensaries and homes (profile)
- Government hospitals are the largest buyers (profile)
- Also sold for sanitary pads and beauty parlours
- Cotton waste is a saleable by-product
Drawbacks
- Large labour force — 67 people in the profile
- Needs a drug manufacturing licence and lab testing
- Boiler and chemical effluent need permits and treatment
- Raw cotton price swings hit a thin margin
Skills you need
- Kier boiling and bleaching control
- Carding and lap making
- Pharmacopoeia quality testing (absorbency, residue)
- Hospital and tender sales
Why difficulty 4/5: Regulated product, boiler, effluent and a large workforce.
§3Market
Who buys
- Government hospitals (largest buyers, profile)
- Private hospitals, nursing homes and dispensaries
- Chemists and households for first aid
- Sanitary-pad makers and beauty parlours
How it sells
- Hospital and government tenders
- Medical and surgical distributors
- Chemist shops
Good to know
- The profile links demand to population growth and the spread of hospitals into small towns.
- Cotton waste (25 tonnes a year) is sold at ₹7,000 a tonne (profile).
§4Raw material & machinery
| Item | Qty | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| High-pressure kier (MS, epoxy-lined), 2,000 kg cotton per charge, with pump | 1 | ₹1,70,000 |
| Revolving-flat carding machine, 1,016 mm | 2 | ₹7,50,000 |
| Two-compartment continuous steam dryer | 2 | ₹6,60,000 |
| Single scutcher and lap machine, 1,065 mm, 10 HP | 2 | ₹6,50,000 |
| Porcupine cleaner, 1,200 mm, 5 HP | 2 | ₹2,50,000 |
| Coal/wood-fired boiler, 1,000 kg/hour | 1 | ₹1,95,000 |
| Vertical opener, 5 HP | 1 | ₹1,00,000 |
| Centrifugal hydro-extractor, SS basket 1,000 mm | 1 | ₹90,000 |
| Water treatment plant for boiler and kier | lump sum | ₹85,000 |
| Overhead water tank 10,000 litres and tube well | lump sum | ₹80,000 |
| Rolling and winding machine, 1,320 mm | 2 | ₹60,000 |
| Wet cotton opener, 1,000 mm | 1 | ₹48,000 |
| Washing tanks and insulated piping | lump sum | ₹47,000 |
| Testing equipment (pH meter, Soxhlet extractor, balance, furnace, oven) | 1 set | ₹1,20,000 |
| Pollution-control and energy-saving equipment | lump sum | ₹1,50,000 |
| Band-saw roll cutter | 2 | ₹17,000 |
| Air compressor for lapping machine | 1 | ₹13,000 |
From: MSME-DI Hyderabad project profile — Surgical Absorbent Cotton
- Raw ginned cotton27,500 kg a month at ₹32 a kg; the profile says cotton from North India is preferred
- Caustic soda850 kg a month at ₹18 a kg
- Soda ash550 kg a month at ₹11 a kg
- Bleaching agent550 kg a month at ₹6.50 a kg
- Coal for the boiler45 tonnes a month at ₹1,800 a tonne
- Packing paper, labels, gum, polythene and sacks₹50,000 a month
From: MSME-DI Hyderabad project profile — Surgical Absorbent Cotton
Suppliers in Building Business Bazaar
Anu Designers and Fabricators · Ahmedabad →APV Engg. Co. Ltd · Kolkata →Associated Textile Engineering · Mumbai →Continental Chemicals · Delhi →Gujrat Industrial Chemicals Corporation · Mumbai →Navin Enterprises · Mumbai →Rajesh Engineering Works · Mumbai →Ramesh Safe and Carding Works · Panipat →United Trading Company · Delhi →Vikas Chemicals,Tolak · Delhi →Wanson India(P) Ltd · Kolkata →B.K.Chemicals · Pune →
In our raw material database
§5Licences & registration
- Manufacturing licence from the State Drugs Controller (the profile says the product is covered by drug-control law)
- State Pollution Control Board consent (effluent treatment)
- Boiler registration under the Boilers Act
- Factory licence
- Udyam
- GST
§6Schemes & subsidies
- CGTMSECentralActiveNo collateral, up to ₹10 crore
- Stand-Up IndiaCentralClosed₹10 lakh – ₹1 crore loan
CGTMSE and Stand-Up India fit. At ₹89.6 L the project is above PMEGP's ₹50 L limit.
§7Money
How the investment is worked out: Fixed capital ₹46.45 L (land 550 sq m ₹2.75 L; building 450 sq m ₹5 L; machinery and equipment ₹37.90 L incl. 2 carding machines ₹7.50 L, 2 continuous dryers ₹6.60 L, 2 scutcher-and-lap machines ₹6.50 L, boiler ₹1.95 L; furniture ₹50,000; pre-operative ₹30,000) + working capital for 3 months ₹43.14 L = ₹89.59 L.
Working capital: Monthly running cost ₹14.38 L: raw cotton 27,500 kg at ₹32 (₹8.80 L), chemicals and packing ₹1.01 L, wages ₹2.65 L, coal 45 tonnes and power ₹1.58 L, other ₹35,000. The profile keeps 3 months: ₹43.14 L.
Year not printed on the profile; its wages (₹3,000–10,000 a month) and cotton price (₹32 a kg) are old — check current costs.
§8Export potential
Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export
Export council / board: DGFT (IEC needed)
- Export buyers usually ask for the drug manufacturing licence and batch test reports.
- Confirm the 8-digit ITC(HS) line with DGFT or your customs broker.
§9Risks — where people fail
- Licence or batch failure under drug law
- Effluent pollution
- Cotton price rises
- Late payment from government hospitals
§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 surgical absorbent cotton (cotton wool) unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
- Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Manufacturing licence from the State Drugs Controller (the profile says the product is covered by drug-control law), State Pollution Control Board consent (effluent treatment)), 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 Surgical Absorbent Cotton (Cotton Wool)?
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.