Meanwhile, across eChai
Paritosh Kumar Garg (founder & MD); Ashish Garg
Incorporated 1979; India's 4th-largest engineering-led maker of complex, safety-critical heavy forged and precision-machined components (crankshafts, transmission parts) for CVs, tractors and off-highway. IP...
Om Prakash Munjal (founder); Pankaj Munjal (Chairman)
Founded 1956 by OP Munjal (part of the four Munjal brothers who moved from Kamalia to Ludhiana). The world's largest integrated bicycle manufacturer by volume — recognised by Guinness in 1986 — producing on ...
Jawahar Lal Oswal (Chairman, Nahar/Oswal group)
Brand launched 1984 by the Nahar/Oswal group; demerged into Monte Carlo Fashions Ltd (FY2011-12) and IPO'd, listed on BSE/NSE 2015. India's leading branded woollen/knitwear player with a dominant share of th...
Oswal group
Listed textile arms of the Nahar/Oswal group (roots in the 1949 Oswal Woollen Mills), among India's larger cotton-yarn spinners and integrated textile makers. Together with Monte Carlo and Cotton County, the...
Vidya Sagar Oswal (founder, 1949)
Flagship of the Nahar Group, founded 1949 — the origin of Ludhiana's modern hosiery & woollen industry. Set up a wool-combing unit in 1972 to enter branded knitwear, which later produced Monte Carlo. Group s...
J.C. Avasthi (founder); Raj Avasthi & Munish Avasthi
Established 1977 under J.C. Avasthi; a vertically integrated yarn, fabric and apparel manufacturer with seven facilities across Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. Announced a ~Rs 1,000 cr greenfield spinning expan...
Rajinder Gupta (founder-promoter)
Founded 1990 by first-generation entrepreneur Rajinder Gupta; a Ludhiana-HQ'd global home-textiles (towels, bedsheets), yarn, paper and chemicals major, Rs 7,000 cr+ income. World's largest terry-towel manuf...
Rattan Chand Oswal (founder); S.P. Oswal (Chairman)
Founded 1965 (as Vardhman Spinning & General Mills); India's largest vertically integrated textile producer — yarn, fabric, sewing thread, acrylic fibre and steel. ~27,000 employees, $1B+ turnover, producing...
Rohan Kashyap (founder); Ojasvee Kashyap & Janvi Sikaria
D2C streetwear brand founded 2019 (grew from a viral Instagram page); bold-graphic hoodies and streetwear for Gen Z. Raised ~Rs 2 cr on Shark Tank India from Kunal Bahl, Anupam Mittal and Aman Gupta. Revenue...
Kailash Chander Kalra (founder); Sanjeev & Deepak Kalra
Started 1958 with two manual nut machines; now India's largest industrial-fasteners manufacturer and the worldwide owner of the iconic Unbrako high-tensile fastener brand. Global export presence built from 1...
Rahul Arora (founder & CEO); Pushpender S. Rautela, Rahool Benji
Founded 2020; a cloud-based technical-interview / on-demand interviewer SaaS platform for tech hiring, appeared on Shark Tank India. ~$300K raised across seed/angel rounds (2am VC, QED, Titan Capital). Ludhi...
Founded 2018; develops AI-based IoT devices/solutions. A small deep-tech/hardware startup in Ludhiana, aligned with the city's manufacturing base and a rare local IoT play.
An LLP-based angel network committed to building an organized startup ecosystem in Punjab, technology-agnostic but focused on manufacturing and supply chain — a natural fit for Ludhiana's industrial DNA. Runs structured programs (AARAMBH...
Regional angel network under the Bharat Angels umbrella, connecting investors with early-stage startups across Punjab and northern India via mentorship, funding and education. Physically based in Mohali (flagged — not Ludhiana) but the n...
One of North India's most active angel networks (since 2015) — a community of entrepreneur-turned-investors offering funding, mentoring and acceleration, with weekly founder sessions across Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. Chandigarh-ba...
Agri-business incubator set up at Punjab Agricultural University in 2019 under the central RKVY-RAFTAAR scheme. Supports farmers and agri-entrepreneurs with mentoring, infrastructure, technical/business guidance and access to government ...
Science & Technology Entrepreneurs' Park (STEP) hosted at GNDEC Ludhiana, one of the oldest engineering colleges in northern India. A Department of Science & Technology (DST)-funded incubator that trains, incubates and helps launch techn...
Technology Business Incubator established 2019 as a self-governing unit of CT University, Ludhiana. Offers co-working space, fully furnished offices for incubatees, conference room and a central laboratory. Provides mentoring and reports...
Campus incubation centre run under PCTE's Entrepreneurship Cell, recognised by Startup Punjab and the Institution's Innovation Council (Ministry of Education). Guides student and early-stage founders from idea to funding, and co-hosts ev...
Public-private catalyst organisation (founded 2020) partnering the Government of Punjab with private capital to build the state's innovation ecosystem. Runs a ~3-month accelerator, the PINE incubator network and an investor network conne...
Punjab government's flagship startup programme offering seed grants (up to INR 3 lakh), interest subsidy on loans, lease-rental reimbursement and incubation support, plus the student-entrepreneurship scheme. Its 'Neuron' innovation hub w...
Single-window state investment-promotion and facilitation agency handling approvals, incentives and the startup collateral/incubator directory for Punjab. Chandigarh-based state body (flagged — not Ludhiana), but the key government inter...
Flexible coworking provider in Ludhiana offering private cabins through enterprise-ready offices. Markets access to networking events, mentorship and investor connections alongside desk space — one of the more startup-oriented workspaces...
Ludhiana coworking brand offering private offices and shared workspace positioned as premium local coworking for professionals and small teams.
Serviced coworking and managed-office provider in Ludhiana catering to manufacturing units, textile and trading firms, engineering consultancies and small-scale industry, with flexible plans from startups to established enterprises.
International serviced-office chain with a Ludhiana centre near Feroze Gandhi Market, offering flexible desks and private offices for professionals in manufacturing, textiles and IT. Provides a recognised branded-workspace option in the ...
TiE Chandigarh — one of TiE Global's most active chapters (20+ years, 340+ charter members, covering Punjab, Haryana, HP, J&K) — inaugurated a satellite office in Ludhiana to bring mentorship, TCHAI angel funding and global networks to l...
A small grassroots Meetup group (~70+ members) organized by Amandeep Sedhey around early-stage seed capital, crowdfunding and founder networking. Low cadence and modest scale, but a signal of bottom-up demand for founder gatherings in th...
A leading Ludhiana industry association representing MSMEs across textiles, hosiery, cycles and engineering. Regularly hosts expos and conferences (technical textiles, industrial safety) at its Focal Point complex. Represents the traditi...
One of Ludhiana's major industry federations advocating for the city's manufacturing MSMEs and organizing industry conferences and policy engagement. Alongside CICU and UCPMA, a key node of the incumbent-industry network that startups in...
The apex body of Ludhiana's cycle and cycle-parts industry (the city is India's cycle-manufacturing hub). Hosts trade events and drives sector policy; relevant to hardware/manufacturing-tech founders and supply-chain startups in the region.
CII's regional startup conclave in Chandigarh (2025 edition addressed by the Governor), convening founders, investors and corporates from across the tricity and Punjab. A formal, corporate-leaning event that draws Ludhiana entrepreneurs ...
TiE Chandigarh's flagship — billed as the largest business conclave in North India — bringing entrepreneurs, investors and global leaders together. The premier regional entrepreneurship event for Punjab founders, including those from Lud...
A one-day conference under the National Technical Textiles Mission, organized by PHDCCI with the Ministry of Textiles and supported by CICU and the Knitwear Club, mapping innovation, sustainability and skilling for the sector. Illustrate...
A major Ludhiana trade expo connecting garment and hosiery machinery manufacturers, suppliers and buyers — a hub for the city's apparel-manufacturing innovation. Large industry footfall; relevant to manufacturing-tech and supply-chain fo...
CICU's recurring industrial-safety expo bringing together industry leaders, safety experts and the NDRF to push a stronger safety culture across MSMEs. Part of CICU's steady stream of sector conferences that define Ludhiana's B2B/industr...
Mridula Jain (Shingora Textiles)
Ludhiana's flagship woman entrepreneur. Started Shingora in 1986 with eight handlooms; built it into one of India's leading luxury shawl/scarf/stole export brands (~Rs 100 cr turnover, ~1,000 employees, ~100...
Ruby Marjara (Waves / The Yellow Tree)
Textile-design postgraduate from a Ludhiana hosiery family (G.K. Marjara Hosiery Mills lineage). Launched her own women's knitwear label "Waves" in 2004, and in 2010 founded "The Yellow Tree," a premium bien...
FICCI FLO Ludhiana (community)
The Ludhiana chapter of FICCI FLO (one of ~20 pan-India FLO chapters), the women's wing of FICCI. Runs entrepreneurship, mentorship and visibility programs ("Dream Chasers & Women in Business"), skill develo...
WICCI Punjab (community, regional)
State/regional chamber for women entrepreneurs, businesswomen and professionals; WICCI's Northern Region spans Punjab, Chandigarh, Haryana, HP, UP, Uttarakhand, J&K and Ladakh. **HQ-FLAG:** WICCI Punjab is a...
Ludhiana's largest planned industrial estate, laid out in phases on the south eastern side of the city off the GT Road and Chandigarh Road. Thousands of units here make auto and cycle components, hand and machine tools, forgings and agricultural equipment. CICU, the city's leading MSME chamber, keeps its complex in Phase V, which makes this the address most of Ludhiana's industry conferences run from.
6 companies
Strong in Manufacturing, D2C
The core of the hosiery and textile processing belt in north central Ludhiana, with spinning, knitting, dyeing and readymade garment units along Gill Road, Miller Ganj and Giaspura. Industry bodies put the knitwear cluster at roughly 10,000 units employing about 400,000 people. The same GT Road stretch carries some of the city's oldest large plants, including Hero Cycles at Hero Nagar, and Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College and its STEP incubator sit on Gill Road.
2 companies 2 coworking
Strong in Manufacturing
The industrial and logistics gateway on the south eastern edge of the city. Dhandari Kalan, listed as Industrial Area C, packs engineering, textile processing and manufacturing units, and the inland container depot at Sahnewal runs block trains to Mundra Port around 1,300 km away, which is how the city's hosiery, cycles and engineering goods reach export markets.
1 company
Strong in Manufacturing
Answers about the Ludhiana startup scene
What does the startup ecosystem in Ludhiana look like?
It is a manufacturing ecosystem with a small startup layer on top. Industry and manufacturing is by far the largest vertical here, followed by D2C and the apparel and knitwear brands built on the city's own factories, and only a handful of companies look like venture backed technology startups. The companies list above shows who is building what, filterable by vertical.
Why is Ludhiana called the Manchester of India?
Because of hosiery. The city is India's woollen knitwear capital, making sweaters, thermals, shawls and T shirts at a scale industry bodies estimate at around 10,000 units and 400,000 workers, and the Knitwear Club alone represents roughly 14,000 MSMEs. The second cluster is bicycles and cycle parts, where Ludhiana makes the bulk of India's cycles.
Who are the best known companies from Ludhiana?
Hero Cycles, founded in 1956 and the world's largest bicycle manufacturer by volume, is the anchor. Vardhman and Trident are textile majors of national scale, Monte Carlo is the country's leading branded woollen player, Deepak Fasteners owns the Unbrako fastener brand worldwide, and Happy Forgings, which makes crankshafts and heavy forged components, listed in December 2023.
Are there many funded startups in Ludhiana?
Not many, and it is worth saying plainly. The genuinely venture or angel funded names are few, among them the streetwear brand Burger Bae, which raised on Shark Tank India in 2025, the tea brand Freshleaf, which raised a seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures in 2024, the ayurvedic brand Add Veda, picked for the first Innovation Mission Punjab cohort, and the SaaS company Intervue. Most of the scale in the city sits with manufacturers rather than startups.
Which incubators and coworking spaces are in Ludhiana?
The incubators are campus hosted. Punjab Agricultural University runs the strongest of them, an agri business incubator plus a NIDHI-TBI, and Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, CT University and PCTE each run their own. The coworking section below lists the private spaces, most of them around Ferozepur Road and Feroze Gandhi Market and oriented towards small firms and trading offices as much as startups.
Are there investors and VCs in Ludhiana?
Ludhiana Angels Network is the one investor body based in the city, technology agnostic but tilted towards manufacturing and supply chain, and it runs a Startup Samagam showcase. Beyond that there is no local venture fund, so early cheques usually come from Chandigarh and Mohali through Chandigarh Angels Network, Punjab Angels Network and Innovation Mission Punjab. The investors section below lists what reaches founders here.
Does eChai run events in Ludhiana?
Not at the moment. eChai Ludhiana has one event on record, in 2019, and the chapter has been quiet since. The events section shows anything upcoming, and if you would like to help start it up again, get in touch.
How do I join the startup community in Ludhiana?
Most convening here runs through the industry bodies rather than startup meetups. CICU, founded in 1968 with more than 1,700 members, FICO, UCPMA, founded in 1969 for the cycle trade, and the Knitwear Club all hold expos and conferences through the year, TiE Chandigarh has opened a satellite office in the city, and PAU runs boot camps for its incubatees. eChai is free and open wherever it runs, with no application or membership fee.
Want to help restart eChai Ludhiana?
eChai has one Ludhiana event on record, back in 2019, and the chapter has been quiet since. If you are a founder or community builder who wants to convene free, open meetups here again, get in touch. TiE Chandigarh now keeps a satellite office in the city and PAU runs the incubator, so there are people to build it with. No membership, no fee.
Get in touch
