Nilam

Bahraichबहराइच

34.9 lakh people. Larger than Qatar, Jamaica, or Armenia. Governed as one cell of one state.

Population
34,87,731 (34.9 lakh)
Area
4,697 km²
Headquarters
Bahraich
ODOP: Wheat Stalk HandicraftsODOP: Food Processing
Wheat-Stalk CraftFood ProcessingSugarcanePaddy

₹3,575 cr

of bankable business potential identified by the government in Bahraich.

Source: NABARD PLP 2023-24

1 ready-to-build opportunity

Opportunities

What you can build here

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Branded & specialty packed-rice mill

Unverified

Bahraich sits on a large paddy belt but ships most grain as raw paddy or unbranded rice at mandi rates. A modern mill that grades, sorts, and brands packed rice captures the milling-and-branding margin the trade currently takes.

Capex
₹10–22 lakh
Payback
2.5 years payback
Risk
Moderate
DCHNABARD-AIF

NABARD's plan for Bahraich · PLP 2023-24

₹3,575 crof bankable credit potential identified by the government

Crop production, maintenance & marketing

₹2,164 cr

MSME

₹614 cr

Term loans for agriculture & allied activities

₹544 cr

Housing

₹124 cr

Bahraich's 2023-24 credit plan pegs total priority-sector potential at ₹3,575 crore, about 13% higher than the previous year. Farming is by far the biggest piece: agriculture makes up roughly ₹2,767 crore (about 77%) of the plan, while MSME lending adds ₹614 crore and housing another ₹124 crore.

Within farming, ordinary crop loans lead at ₹2,164 crore — the district's kharif paddy, maize, sugarcane and arhar and its rabi wheat, mustard and gram. The most promising business opportunities sit in allied activities: dairy (₹212 crore) is the single largest, followed by farm mechanisation (₹141 crore) and plantation & horticulture (₹60 crore), which covers banana, pointed gourd (parval), kundru and mint. There is also clear room in cold storage and warehousing (agri infrastructure ₹47 crore), food and agro-processing, poultry, and solar-powered irrigation pumps.

The plan is candid about what holds Bahraich back. Only about half the farmland is irrigated, so crops swing with the monsoon. Groundwater is contaminated with arsenic and the clean-water (BAMP) project has moved slowly. Literacy is low — female literacy just 39% — and skilled workers are scarce. Over 95% of farm holdings are under two hectares, and the district has only two export-oriented industrial units, so MSME credit needs an active government push. Tenant and sharecropping farmers without land papers also miss out on Kisan Credit Cards.

See the plan's recommendations

What the plan promotes

  • Total 2023-24 PLP potential of ₹3575.21 cr, up 13.31% on 2022-23; crop loans ₹2164.04 cr and agri-allied investment credit ₹544.05 cr dominate
  • Dairy is the biggest allied opportunity at ₹211.71 cr, followed by farm mechanisation ₹140.80 cr; a large share of people work in dairy, poultry, sheep and goat rearing alongside crops
  • Bring KCC (Kisan Credit Card) cover to livestock, fisheries and beekeeping farmers, and finance mini/commercial dairy and milk-cooling units via PM Matsya Sampada Yojana and the Fisheries & Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund
  • Build modern warehousing and cold storage (agri infra ₹47.24 cr) using the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF-2020); finance FPOs under the FPO scheme-2020 and promote One District One Product
  • Plantation & horticulture incl. sericulture worth ₹60.25 cr — district grows banana, parval (pointed gourd), kundru, menthol (mint) and seasonal vegetables at scale besides field crops
  • Support drip/sprinkler and solar PV pump-set irrigation and micro-irrigation given only 51.63% of sown area is irrigated and average annual rainfall is 903 mm

Gaps the plan names

  • Weak irrigation development — only 51.63% of net sown area irrigated and farming heavily monsoon-dependent; needs improved power supply, revival of state tube-wells and better use of surface water
  • Arsenic contamination of groundwater keeps clean drinking-water demand high; the Japan-aided BAMP (Bahraich Arsenic Mitigation Project) has progressed slowly, so the safe-water target is unmet
  • Very low literacy (49.33% overall, female just 39.10%) and shortage of skilled labour, holding back non-farm/industrial development
  • About 95.28% of holdings (529390) are under two hectares and 83% of farmers are small/marginal cultivating 66.2% of land, limiting individual credit absorption
  • Only two export-oriented industrial units in the district, so MSME credit needs a coordinated push through government incentive schemes and stakeholder alignment

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.

Paddy: raw paddy → milled, graded & packed rice

Unverified
Raw 85%Processed 15%

The paddy belt ships much of its harvest as raw paddy to traders at mandi rates. Milling, grading and consumer-packing branded rice locally captures the processing and retail margin that otherwise leaves the district. With food-processing already flagged as a growth lever, a modern rice mill and packing line is a direct fit.

Sugarcane: raw cane → branded jaggery & gur powder

Unverified
Raw 85%Processed 15%

Bahraich's sugarcane is sold largely as raw cane to mills at notified prices. Channelling part of the crop into clean, packaged jaggery, gur powder and natural sweeteners earns several times the raw-cane value per kg and taps growing demand for unrefined sugar. The district's stated food-processing potential makes this a near-term opportunity.

Growth signal

Demand for natural and unrefined sweeteners like jaggery is rising among health-focused consumers.

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

1 fact

Industrial clusters

1 fact

Skills & labour

1 fact

About Bahraich

Bahraich district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh state of India, and Bahraich town is the district headquarters. Bahraich District is a part of Devipatan Division.

Source: Wikipedia — Bahraich district

Uttar Pradesh

Bahraich

See Bahraich elsewhere

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