Building BusinessServices

Section 21

Chanderi

Ashoknagar, Madhya Pradesh · Craft & handloom

Chanderi hand-woven sarees and fabrics

sourced figures
4
main products
4
businesses to start
5

The story

Chanderi weavers once spun cotton as fine as 300 counts, and their fabric was prized like Dhaka muslin. In the 1930s they began using Japanese silk in the warp, which gave the sheer, glossy silk-cotton fabric the town is known for today. Most cloth is sold through local traders who also supply yarn and designs, while state handloom and craft agencies sell the rest. Chanderi Sarees was the first GI registered from Madhya Pradesh.

In numbers

  1. The UNIDO diagnostic study counted 3,659 working looms in Chanderi, 1,145 of them in the cooperative sector, with 10,977 persons directly employed and 10 working weaver cooperative societies.

    Brief Industrial Profile of Ashoknagar District (MSME-DI, Ministry of MSME) · 2016

  2. The cluster table in the profile records 3,572 looms, a turnover of Rs 25-30 crore and employment of 21,954.

    Brief Industrial Profile of Ashoknagar District (MSME-DI, Ministry of MSME) · 2016

  3. Local traders sell between 85 and 90 per cent of the fabric produced; government agencies sell the rest.

    Brief Industrial Profile of Ashoknagar District (MSME-DI, Ministry of MSME) · 2016

  4. Chanderi Sarees was registered as a GI in 2004-05 under application number 7.

    Registration Details of Geographical Indications (GI Registry, IP India) · 2026

GI tag

Ways in for a newcomer

  • Direct-to-customer and online sale of Chanderi sarees and fabric
  • Yarn and dye supply, and a raw material bank
  • Design services and new products such as stoles and home furnishing
  • Craft tourism and weaving-visit tours

Problems the cluster faces

  • Traders take most of the margin; weavers struggle to sell in metro markets
  • Raw material, dyeing and finance needs
  • Copies woven on power looms outside Chanderi

Businesses to start here

Handloom and Handicrafts Retail Shop →Shawls, Stoles, Scarves and Wraps →Saree Dyeing and Printing →Online Folk Art and Art Gallery Marketplace →Regional Speciality Products E-commerce Marketplace →

Sources (2)
  1. Brief Industrial Profile of Ashoknagar District (MSME-DI, Ministry of MSME)
  2. Registration Details of Geographical Indications (GI Registry, IP India)