Nilam

Chandelꯆꯥꯟꯗꯦꯜ ꯄꯅꯥ

1.44 lakh people. Larger than the Seychelles, Monaco, or Vatican City. Governed as one cell of one state.

Population
1,44,182 (1.44 lakh)
Area
3,313 km²
Headquarters
Chandel
Established
1974
ODOP: Turmeric
TurmericBambooHill horticultureNaga tribal crafts

₹102 cr

of bankable business potential identified by the government in Chandel.

Source: NABARD PLP 2023-24

1 ready-to-build opportunity

Opportunities

What you can build here

Each opportunity card maps to a banker-ready DPR template. Generate a customised DPR with your promoter and capital details — ₹499 per report.

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Anal-Maring tribal weave D2C cluster

Unverified

Organise Chandel's Anal, Maring and Moyon weavers into a single quality-controlled brand selling shawls, scarves and stoles to metro heritage-textile platforms — selling verified NE-tribal origin to buyers who currently can't source it reliably.

Capex
₹4–10 lakh
Payback
2 years payback
Risk
Moderate
NER-TextileDAY-NRLM

NABARD's plan for Chandel · PLP 2023-24

₹102 crof bankable credit potential identified by the government

Crop production, maintenance & marketing

₹52 cr

MSME

₹24 cr

Term loans for agriculture & allied activities

₹9 cr

Informal credit delivery (SHGs/JLGs)

₹4 cr

Chandel is a hilly, tribal aspirational district in Manipur, published in a combined plan with neighbouring Tengnoupal. For 2023-24, NABARD sees about 101.52 crore of bankable lending potential in Chandel. Farming and allied work make up the bulk at roughly 64.98 crore (about 64%), while small businesses (MSME) are the next big block at 24.35 crore (about 24%), split into 20.70 crore of term loans and 3.66 crore of working capital.

The single largest opportunity is crop lending at 52.31 crore — paddy is the main crop, with maize, ginger, pineapple, passion fruit, potato and chillies also grown. Beyond crops, the plan points to clear clusters: livestock (sheep/goat/piggery 1.96 crore, poultry 1.56 crore, dairy 0.49 crore), plantation & horticulture (2.67 crore, backed by NABARD's Tribal Development Programme), agro & food processing (1.80 crore) and weaving/handicraft, where Chandel has 141 weaving cooperatives and a NABARD Rural Mart at Pallei. FPOs are being promoted in piggery and poultry through the Centre for Women and Girls.

The plan is candid about what holds Chandel back: the poor National Highway 102, very low Kisan Credit Card coverage, thin banking presence, missing rural infrastructure (markets, storage, irrigation), too few industries and schools, banks missing even half their credit targets, and pressure from shifting cultivation and deforestation.

See the plan's recommendations

What the plan promotes

  • Crop production is the anchor at 52.31 Cr; paddy is the main crop (shifting cultivation still dominant, some settled/terrace cultivation), alongside maize, oilseeds, pulses, potato, ginger, pineapple, banana, chillies, turmeric and passion fruit.
  • Animal husbandry is a named thrust area: sheep/goat/piggery term loans 1.96 Cr, poultry 1.56 Cr and dairy 0.49 Cr; piggery and poultry are flagged as Area Development Plans/Schemes for Chandel.
  • Plantation & horticulture term loans of 2.67 Cr, supported by NABARD's Tribal Development Programme in Chandel for land-based horticulture livelihoods.
  • MSME potential of 24.35 Cr (term loan 20.70 Cr, working capital 3.66 Cr), with weaving and handicraft the dominant local trades (141 weaving cooperatives in Chandel).
  • Agro & food processing potential of 1.80 Cr, tapping local produce like pineapple, ginger and passion fruit.
  • NABARD Skill Development covering 304 unemployed youth in Chandel through TATA Strive.

Gaps the plan names

  • Poor road communication, especially the bad condition of NH-102 that links the district to other states and Myanmar; improving connectivity is expected to lift credit flow across sectors.
  • Very low KCC coverage and poor access of farmers to institutional credit; need to issue ATM-cum-Debit/Rupay KCC cards to all farmers and widen KCC coverage.
  • Weak banking presence and infrastructure gaps in rural connectivity, markets, irrigation, storage godowns, extension services and training support.
  • Lack of industries, quality schools and colleges, hospitals, police stations and sanitary facilities across the two districts.
  • Many banks are not achieving even 50% of their Annual Credit Plan target, and SHG financing is done almost entirely by the RRB, which needs correction.

Value-chain gaps

Money this district loses today

Raw output sold cheap, value added elsewhere — each gap below is an opening for a local business.

Bamboo: raw poles → boards / charcoal & finished crafts

Unverified
Raw 85%Processed 15%

Chandel's bamboo is largely sold as raw poles at low rates for construction and basic use. Processed bamboo boards, furniture, charcoal/agarbatti sticks and finished crafts command several times the raw-pole value. A local processing unit turns an abundant hill resource into higher-margin products.

Turmeric: raw → curcumin extract / branded retail

Unverified
Raw 85%Processed 15%

Chandel's hill turmeric is prized for high curcumin but is mostly sold raw to traders at low farmgate prices. Polished, branded retail turmeric and curcumin extract for nutraceutical buyers command several times the raw per-kg value. A local polishing-and-extraction line lets growers capture the premium their high-curcumin crop deserves.

Growth signal

Global demand for high-curcumin turmeric and extract is growing at a double-digit CAGR.

Resources

What this district has

Tap a category to see the facts and figures underneath. Numbers marked unverified are AI-extracted and need a sourcing pass.

Agriculture & natural resources

2 facts

Skills & labour

1 fact

Infrastructure

1 fact

About Chandel

Chandel district is one of the 16 districts of Manipur state in northeastern India. Its headquarters is the town of Chandel. In December 2016, a part of the district was split to establish the new Tengnoupal district. The district is mainly populated by Anāl Naga Tribe and other Naga tribes namely Moyon, Chothe, Maring among others.

Source: Wikipedia — Chandel district

Manipur

Chandel

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