The Business Opportunity Hidden Inside India’s Repair Economy
Every day, India’s business headlines go behind what is new: the next smartphone plant, the latest app, the upcoming funding round. Meanwhile, a hidden market sits in plain sight. Every day a phone screen cracks, a fridge stops cooling, or an AC stops working in the middle of summer, and someone has to fix it.
The demand is going up continuously, but trust will take time to establish. In Hyderabad’s Abids repair market, a Toxics Link study found an original iPhone 12 Pro screen costs about ₹35,000, while a first-copy version sells for about ₹8,000. Here, customers have to choose between paying a lot and taking a chance.
There is a gap for a profitable business. India’s repair economy has huge potential with no shortage of customers. But the industry lacks genuine parts, trained people and proof of quality, and each of those is a problem an aspiring entrepreneur can solve and charge for. This article looks at business opportunities in the repair economy you can build around that gap, a seven-step way to begin, and what Urban Company learned from a million repairs.
The Demand in India’s Repair Economy
Most of the repair shops in India are small and informal, with a limited amount of equipment. Technicians often get parts from dead devices because makers’ own service centres and large sellers get original parts first. Plus, there is no formal structure for learning. The training happens on the job. Customers often have to face issues due to this. The number of complaints about mobile and tablet repairs to the National Consumer Helpline rose from 19,057 in 2022-23 to 22,864 in 2024-25, about 20% in two years.
Six Business Opportunities to Build
Doorstep or home-based repair: This is the lowest-cost way in; many start-up guides suggest it, though they come from training institutes, so check costs yourself. Choose one product, like phones, and stay with it until your quality is steady. Try creating a creative edge in written pricing, a stated warranty and the name of the part you used.
Parts supply business. Small shops struggle to buy genuine parts. If you can source dependable parts and deliver fast, you can sell to the shops in your area. A supplier who covers several brands fills a gap that one brand’s programme leaves.
Technician training course: You can offer a short practical course with a certificate customers recognise, which helps owners hire and helps shops win trust.
Refurbish and resell: Under India’s 2022 e-waste rules, refurbishers can earn certificates that producers buy to put off part of their own recycling duty. That gives you a second income line beside resale. You need to register on the government’s e-waste portal first.
Pickup-and-drop repair: Many people do not have time to visit a repair market. Collecting the device, getting it fixed through a trusted partner and returning it is a service in itself. Cashify’s pickup partner model shows that collection and delivery can be a business.
Repair other things: Footwear, bags, furniture, kitchen appliances and small electronics are often thrown away because no one nearby fixes them well. You can set up a shop specialising in one such category and become the obvious name in this industry.
The Urban Company Innovation
Urban Company’s co-founder said the company had repaired and serviced over a million water purifiers and that the most common complaint was how often and how expensively they needed servicing. So the company made its own. The newest model has filters designed to last up to three years and an unconditional three-year warranty. The Native range earned ₹267 crore in FY26, up 130%. It still runs at a loss, so read it as an early sign. A repair log is a small version of the same idea.
Last Verdicts
The government’s Right to Repair portal, launched in December 2022, shares repair information across four sectors. It does not force makers to hand over parts. A government committee has recommended that phone and tablet makers declare a repairability score, but it is not yet clear that this is in force.
You have a great business opportunity inside India’s repair economy, and customers are already waiting; just make a genuine part affordable or a repair provable.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I start a repair business in India?
You can start small and choose one product, like phones or laptops. But first, learn to repair yourself; you can take a course or hire a trained technician. Register your business: start-up guides list business registration, GST, a Shop Act licence and a local trade licence; confirm the exact rules with your local authority.
Is a repair business profitable in India?
Repair complaints are rising, which means customers are looking for better repair service. But there is no guarantee. Test before you commit: ask ten local shops about their average bill, jobs per week and the part they find hardest to buy.
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