Innovative Business Idea: Investment of less than Rs 10,000 to return Rs 2 crore! Man quits government job to turn entrepreneur

Will you quit the financial security of a government job to take up a business? Most probably, you will think twice before resigning from your government job. Earlier, you must have heard about MBA graduates/engineers turning entrepreneurs by taking up organic farming and earning in lakhs. Now, a Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) employee has resigned to take up the farming of white sandalwood and black turmeric. Utkrisht Pandey, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, quit his dream job as an Assistant Commandant in the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) in 2016 and started his company in Pratapgarh and is now a full-time entrepreneur.

Pandey quit his job and explored different areas and finally arrived at getting into sustainable farming of white sandalwood and black turmeric. He said that everybody was of the view that sandalwood can grow only in South India. "But I studied in greater detail that we can do that in north India also. I completed a course at Bengaluru-based Institute of Wood Science and Technology (IWST)," said Pandey, adding that he had to convince his family before quitting the job. The retired officer began work from his four-acre parental farmland. He also visited different agriculture universities and met farmers to understand natural and organic farming, reported PTI.

He informed that sandalwood plantation takes time and it takes around 14-15 years for a sapling to fully grow. Though sandalwood has many varieties, white and red are mostly cultivated in the southern part of the country. Due to its therapeutic and cosmetic value, white sandalwood is more expensive. White sandalwood is mainly grown in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Pandey informed that a farmer can fetch over Rs 2 crore from about 250 sandalwood trees once they are fully grown in 14-15 years. This translates into Rs 80,000 per tree. Similarly, black turmeric fetches about Rs 1,000 per kilogram depending on its quality.

A general search on the internet showed that 1kg of white sandalwood seeds can be purchased for less than Rs 2,000. According to experts, if the initial cultivation and irrigation cost is included, the total investment would be around Rs 10,000. Post that, it's mostly a game of patience and wait as you witness the plants grow and turn into a tree. If all the seeds don't sprout, then a maximum of two to three kgs of seeds will be required. In that case, the investment amount could be around Rs 20,000.

White sandalwood saplings are available for an amount between Rs 100 and Rs 300 per piece. It's also to be noted that the investment cost does not take into consideration the physical hard work/labour required for farming or the cost of farm land. The cost of land varies from place to place. 

However, be mindful that one cannot rely upon sandalwood farming for daily livelihood as the return is higher only after a long period. So one will have to do simultaneous farming of turmeric or other similar items that can be harvested twice or thrice a year. 

(With PTI inputs)