FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Everything we get asked about Nilam — what it does, what's free, what's paid, and how to trust the numbers.
What is Nilam?
Nilam is a research project that lists real, district-by-district business opportunities across India. For each opportunity, you can see what it costs to start, what it could earn, what's hard about it, and which government schemes apply. The free product covers everything; a paid tier called Nilam Plus adds an Ask AI feature on top of every opportunity.
What does Nilam do?
Nilam answers the question "what business could I build in my district?" by combining open data (census, crop production, industrial composition, market access) with on-the-ground research and writeups. Every opportunity is grounded in a specific district — not generic startup ideas, but businesses that fit the resources, gaps, and demand of that place.
How does Nilam work?
Each district has a page that lists its resource base (what it produces), its value-chain gaps (what's missing locally), and a curated set of opportunities. Each opportunity has a writeup with capex range, payback months, land needs, risk score, applicable government schemes (PMEGP, MUDRA, NABARD, etc.), and a discussion thread where readers ask questions and share knowledge.
Is Nilam free to use?
Yes. The opportunities, the writeups, the screener, and the discussion are all free. No sign-in is required to read. Nilam Plus is an optional ₹149/month subscription that unlocks an Ask AI feature on each opportunity — useful if you want to ask a specific question ("would this work in my village?", "what's the upfront NABARD requirement?") and get an answer grounded in the writeup, not a generic chatbot reply.
Which Indian states does Nilam cover?
All of India — 28 states and 8 union territories, totalling 733 districts. Tamil Nadu's 38 districts are fully hand-curated by the Nilam team; the rest of the country has at least one opportunity per district as a starting point, marked "Unverified" until the team's deeper research pass lands. Coverage deepens state-by-state from there.
How is Nilam different from a generic AI chatbot?
ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude can describe a business idea, but they don't know your district. Nilam's writeups are anchored to specific places — they reference the actual crops grown, the local industrial clusters, the gaps the district already has. The Ask AI feature on Nilam Plus uses the same writeup as context, so its answers stay grounded in your district rather than drifting into generic startup advice.
How does Nilam pick which opportunities to list for a district?
Three signals combine: resource availability (what the district already produces or has access to), value-chain gaps (what local businesses currently buy from elsewhere or what's missing in the chain), and applicable government scheme structures (PMEGP, MUDRA, NABARD, state-level subsidies). Opportunities that score high on all three — match the district's resources, fill a real gap, and have a financing path — make it onto the page.
Can I trust Nilam's numbers?
The capex, payback, land, and risk numbers are starting estimates compiled from public scheme guidelines, prevailing market rates, and verified secondary sources. They are explicitly indicative — every opportunity page says so. For a specific decision (taking a loan, leasing land), you should validate with local quotations and the latest scheme circulars. Nilam Plus subscribers can also generate a project report (DPR) that grounds the numbers against their specific inputs.
What is a DPR on Nilam?
A DPR is a Detailed Project Report — the document banks and government scheme officers ask for before approving a loan or grant. Nilam can generate one for any opportunity, customised to your specific inputs (location, capex, scale). DPRs are a one-time paid service; subscribers get 25% off.
Is Nilam open about how it makes money?
Yes. Two revenue streams: (1) Nilam Plus subscriptions at ₹149/month for the Ask AI feature, and (2) one-time DPR generations for users ready to apply for financing. The free product is rich on purpose — Nilam is a public-good research project at MoonProduct, and the paid features cover AI inference and ongoing district research costs.
Who builds Nilam?
Nilam is built by MoonProduct, a small product studio. The research is a labour of love — every district is mapped one at a time. You can reach the team at [email protected].
How do I contribute a correction or a new opportunity?
Every district page has a contribute strip at the bottom. Tell us what's wrong or missing — community contributions are how Nilam stays accurate as conditions change on the ground.