Overview of Grinding Mill Business in India

Grinding is the process of mechanical action on whole grains through processes like compression, shearing, crushing, cutting, friction and collision. As grinding is a part of milling, many of its aspects are the same as that of the latter. Milling and grinding aim to separate endosperm and bran parts of wheat and thereby recover flour. Grinding is the most essential and highest energy requirement operation in the milling industry. The selection of space and machinery are crucial aspects that must be considered when starting a grinding mill business in India.

To produce quality products, a standard of grains should be selected to be grounded. All working conditions and machinery should be clean and kept in hygienic conditions. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published specifications for ground/milled products like IS-1155/1968 for atta wheat, IS-1009/1968 for maida and IS-1010/1968 for sooji or rawa. Entrepreneurs can quickly start a grinding mill business in India with decent capital and earn profit in a short period, as the return on investment is high in this case.

How can one start a Grinding Mill Business?

Although there are many small and medium grinding mill businesses in India, the high demand for various flour makes it still profitable to establisheven more units in the country.

Licences and documents required for setting up Grinding Mill Business in India

Business Registration: Business registration is the first step in setting up the factory. The business size doesn't matter regarding company registration. It provides legal rights to your business. Moreover, one gets various advantages for your grinding mill business by registering it. Registering the facility as an OPC, LLP, partnership firm, private company, or any other model is a prerequisite.

Consent NOC: Every grinding mill business operating or setting up as an industrial plant must obtain Consent NOCs from their concerned State Pollution Control Board (SPCB). This must be in the form of Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO). All industrial establishments must obtain CTE before establishing the unit. After obtaining CTE and one month before commencing the operations, the applicant must apply for CTO after fulfilling all the conditions.

Documents required for Consent Certificates

• Duly filled application form of the concerned SPCB
• Signed undertaking
• Site or layout plan with a roadmap 
• Detailed project report
• Details of different point sources of effluent discharge or hazardous waste that may be generated
• List of machinery and the capital cost of the unit (land, building, and plant machinery)
• Details of finished products
• Water balance in the area, source of water, and the required quantity of water
• Land documents such as rent/lease agreement
• Industry registration documents

• Balanced sheet certified by a CA
• Lab report of the trade emissions and effluents
• Copy of any permission required from the state government
• Any other document specified in the application form

FSSAI Licence: Every Food Business Operator must obtain an FSSAI license to operate in the country. As food grain grinding and milling is a type of food processing, the FSSAI License is required. However, businesses need an FSSAI registration before the operation stage of the industry.

Documentations required for issuance of FSSAI basic registration are

• A duly filled Form-B by the applicant
•  ID proof
• List of proposed food articles
• Partnership deed/Certificate of Incorporation (COI)/Memorandum of Association(MOA)/Articles of Association (AOA)
• Lease/rental agreement to prove land ownership
• Food Safety Management System (FSMS) plan
• Supporting dossiers (if any, such as NOC of Panchayat/Municipality, health NOC, etc.)
• List of machines and equipment, raw materials suppliers, etc.
• Water test report through a certified NABL
• Import-export code (aka IEC) granted by DGFT
• List of directors
• Partners list

Additional licences and permits required for Grinding Mill Business

• Trade license from the state health department to safeguard public health and hygiene
• SSI orMSME registration with the Udyog Aadhaar registration
• ISO certification from the  BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards)
• AGMARK, through any state-certified AGMARK lab across the country, tested and certified agricultural products on their quality
• GST registration for tax purposes
• IEC code if one wishes to export the finished product

• BIS certification

Stages in obtaining consent NOC from SPCBfor Grinding Mill Business

Though milling is simple, certain aspects of food safety and quality standards must be obtained.

Market Overview of Milling and Grinding Businesses in India

India, which is reaching the 1.4 billion mark in terms of population, has unprecedented demand for flour. Along with this growing flour demand, the country also has a fragmented grinding industry. Almost two-thirds of the flour is produced in small stone mills or chakki. Wheat production, storage, marketing, consumption practices and other techno-economic consideration in India have given rise to mills of indigenous design. Power-operated disc mills (Chakies) are one of them. Wheat milling is still primarily done in chakkis in the country (about 70%).

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