Nilam

Moradabadमुरादाबाद

47.7 lakh people. Larger than Oman, Kuwait, or Mongolia. Governed as one cell of one state.

Population
47,72,006 (47.7 lakh)
Area
3,648 km²
Headquarters
Moradabad
ODOP: Moradabad Metal Craft
Brass HandicraftsMetal Craft ExportsPeetal Nagri

₹9,701 cr

of bankable business potential identified by the government in Moradabad.

Source: NABARD PLP 2024-25

1 ready-to-build opportunity

Opportunities

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District-owned brass decor brand & finishing unit

Unverified

A finishing-and-branding unit that takes Moradabad's brass castings to finished, packaged decor sold under a district-owned D2C label — capturing the brand margin the cluster gives away as an anonymous OEM exporter.

Capex
₹18–40 lakh
Payback
2.5 years payback
Risk
Moderate
PMEGPCGTMSE

NABARD's plan for Moradabad · PLP 2024-25

₹9,701 crof bankable credit potential identified by the government

MSME

₹5,355 cr

Crop production, maintenance & marketing

₹2,967 cr

Term loans for agriculture & allied activities

₹487 cr

Export credit

₹291 cr

Moradabad's NABARD credit plan for 2024-25 sees about Rs 9,701 crore of lend-able opportunity across priority sectors, up 27% on the year before. The mix is unusual for a rural district: MSME is the biggest slice at Rs 5,355 crore (about 55%), well ahead of agriculture and allied at Rs 3,710 crore (about 38%) — because Moradabad is India's famous 'Brass City', home to roughly 2,500 brass and metalware export units. Total district exports run near Rs 4,500 crore, and over 200 ODOP units have already taken more than Rs 1,000 crore in loans. So the standout openings are metal handicrafts, working-capital finance for exporters, and packaging.

On the farm side, the biggest number is crop cultivation at Rs 2,967 crore, built on paddy, sugarcane, wheat and potato, plus mango and guava. Mentha (mint) oil distillation, sugar mills and milk-processing plants are the leading agro-processing activities. Allied lending is led by farm mechanisation (Rs 163 crore) and dairy (Rs 104 crore), with the district holding about 1.77 lakh cattle and 4.09 lakh buffaloes. Weaving clusters sit in Bilari and Thakurdwara blocks.

The plan flags clear gaps to close: weak power supply for irrigation and industry, the need for poultry mother-units, APMC reform and check dams to fix groundwater in over-used blocks, and the loss of fertile land to real estate. It also calls for medium and large industrial units, cold storage, and better technical and higher-education institutions to lift jobs and entrepreneurship.

See the plan's recommendations

What the plan promotes

  • Brass handicraft cluster — Moradabad is the world-famous 'Brass City' (Pital Nagari) with ~2500 export units; over 200 ODOP units have already drawn more than Rs 1000 crore in credit, and total district exports run at ~Rs 4500 crore covering brass ware, iron sheets, aluminium artware and glass items sold to UK, USA, Gulf, Germany and Canada
  • MSME is the biggest opportunity at Rs 5355 crore (term loan Rs 3740 cr + working capital Rs 1615 cr); MSME credit achievement hit Rs 4341.27 crore (170%) and Rs 37000 crore of MoUs were signed at UP Investment Summit 2023
  • Crop cultivation potential of Rs 2967 crore led by paddy, sugarcane, wheat and potato, plus mango, guava and vegetables; sugarcane is a very important crop feeding the district's chini (sugar) mills
  • Mentha (mint) is a key cash crop — mentha oil distillation and processing is a major non-farm agro-processing activity alongside sugar mills and milk processing plants
  • Dairy and poultry are prominent allied activities (term-loan potential dairy Rs 103.59 cr, poultry Rs 21.97 cr); 2019 census counts 1,76,934 cattle and 4,08,720 buffaloes, with dairy a leading household and commercial business
  • Farm mechanisation is the single largest agri term-loan line at Rs 163.36 crore

Gaps the plan names

  • Supply of electricity for irrigation and industries needs to be strengthened
  • Set up mother/parent units for poultry to support the poultry sector
  • Amend the APMC Act to remove restrictions on movement of agricultural produce, and build check dams and infrastructure to improve groundwater levels in over-exploited (dark) blocks
  • Small and fragmented holdings (about 78% of holdings under 1 hectare), deteriorating soil conditions, groundwater stress, and a rising tendency to divert fertile farmland to real-estate use are key constraints
  • Establish medium/large industrial units for employment generation and set up good technical institutions, better schools and higher-education institutions to build entrepreneurship skills among rural youth

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.

Brass handicrafts: OEM exports → district-owned decor brands

Unverified
Raw 85%Processed 15%

Moradabad — 'Peetal Nagri' — exports vast volumes of brass and metal handicrafts (ODOP), but mostly as unbranded OEM goods that overseas importers and home-decor chains re-label and sell at multiples of the factory price. Building district-owned design-led brands with direct e-commerce and export catalogues captures the design, branding and retail margin that now leaves with the buyer. The export-trade workforce and craft base are already here.

Growth signal

Global home-decor and handicraft e-commerce is growing at a strong double-digit CAGR.

Metalcraft: raw castings → finished lifestyle products

Unverified
Raw 80%Processed 20%

Beyond brass, Moradabad's metalcraft cluster handles aluminium, iron and mixed-metal components often shipped semi-finished or as raw castings to assemblers elsewhere. Completing the plating, finishing, assembly and retail packaging locally — into lamps, planters, tableware and gifting lines — keeps the higher value-added margin in the district rather than at the assembly point. The skilled metalcraft workforce makes this a near-term opening.

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.

Industrial clusters

1 fact

Skills & labour

1 fact

Infrastructure

1 fact

About Moradabad

Moradabad district is one of the districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. The city of Moradabad is the district headquarters. Moradabad district is part of Moradabad division. It used to be the second most populous district of Uttar Pradesh out of 75 after Prayagraj till a new district Sambhal was carved out of it in 2011.

Source: Wikipedia — Moradabad district

Uttar Pradesh

Moradabad

See Moradabad elsewhere

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