§1Ways to get started

  • Corrugated box making for local manufacturers and e-commerce sellers
  • Notebook and exercise-book converting
  • Paper bag making (substitute for banned single-use plastic bags)
  • Label and packaging print shop; digital print-on-demand
  • Waste-paper collection and baling for recycled-fibre mills

See the Business Encyclopedia

§2Hubs and clusters

    §3Licences and registration

    1. Factory Licence (Factories Act) for mills and converting units
    2. SPCB consent (mills: Red; converting and printing: per CPCB category)
    3. PRGI registration only if publishing a newspaper or periodical; printing press declaration where required by state rules
    4. Legal Metrology packer registration for packaged stationery
    5. Udyam Registration (MSME) - free, online, PAN + Aadhaar based
    6. GST registration (mandatory above turnover threshold or for inter-state supply)
    7. Shops & Establishments registration or Factory Licence (Factories Act) depending on set-up
    8. State Pollution Control Board Consent to Establish / Operate per CPCB 2025 Red/Orange/Green/White/Blue category (White exempt)
    9. IEC - Importer Exporter Code from DGFT (only if importing or exporting)

    §4Regulators

    • DPIIT (Ministry of Commerce & Industry) - administrative department for the paper industry
    • State Pollution Control Board (pulp and paper mills are Red category)
    • Press Registrar General of India (PRGI) - registration of periodicals under the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023
    • DGFT - Paper Import Monitoring System for paper imports
    • Director General of Trade Remedies - anti-dumping complaints on paper imports

    §5Government help

    • No sector-specific PLI for paper
    • Trade remedies: DGTR anti-dumping route on unfair paper imports (minister's advice in PIB 1991341)
    • Cross-sector schemes: Udyam-linked MSME benefits, PMEGP, CGTMSE credit guarantee, Stand-Up India, Startup India (DPIIT recognition), RoDTEP / duty drawback and Export Promotion Mission for exporters

    All schemes

    §6For exports

    • CAPEXIL (Chemicals and Allied Products Export Promotion Council) - paper and paper products
    • DGFT

    §7Pros and cons

    Merits

    • Union Commerce Minister has called for new paper grades to replace single-use plastics and highlighted export potential in packaging [PIB 1991341]
    • Converting units (boxes, bags, notebooks) need modest capital and sell locally

    Demerits

    • Pulp and paper mills are Red category - heavy effluent compliance
    • Industry has raised concerns about imports; the government routes them to DGTR [PIB 1991341]
    • Raw-material (waste paper, pulp) prices swing with imports
    • Print media demand is shrinking as reading moves to digital

    Sources

    1. PIB (Ministry of Commerce): Paper industry to continue to prosper - Piyush Goyal at FPTA AGM (28 Dec 2023)