Passive Income in India Ideas

India is an international commercial hub and it can be a great place to start a passive income stream. This article explores passive income ideas you can start in India and most can be done with a fairly low budget.

How can I earn passive income in India? You can earn passive income in India via eCommerce, gaming, podcasting, monetized chatbots, niche sites, dropshipping, and blogging. You can also use side-hustles made passive, like using food delivery apps, flipping items on craigslist, flipping domains, flipping items on eBay and more.

Your choice will probably depend on what you are able to do, interested in and passionate about. In this post, we share fourteen passive income ideas you can create in India. Most of these ideas are fairly easy to start and run but they require skill, patience, dedication, and hard work in order to earn income, especially passive income. There are many guides on our site so be sure to click on the orange button to view a comprehensive beginner’s guide about each idea below. Let’s get started!

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1. eCommerce

India has one of the largest eCommerce markets in the world. The market has over 730 million eCommerce users and revenues should reach $660,000 USD million by 2024 (source). The growing online retail sector in India only means that more and more people are using online platforms to purchase their products from food to clothing, jewellery, electronics, furniture, toys and more. But eCommerce is an umbrella term for many things, check out the video below to learn what eCommerce entails.

You can sell products online through popular platforms such as eBay, Amazon. In India, you can try out online platforms and create your own online store. You can earn by selling your products, selling other people’s products, selling digital products, etc. eCommerce can be a very reliable source of income and very suitable for people looking for a long-term investment. Feel free to view our guide for more details on how you can get started on eCommerce.


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2. Blogging

Blogging can be a fun means of making passive income in India. You can create blogs on travel, cooking, fashion, hobbies and more. You can use your blog to make money by promoting products through affiliate marketing, by running ads or with eCommerce. But there really is a right and a wrong way to blog. Watch the video below to learn more about blogging the right way, or by following a proven methodologie like the one taught in Project 24

With the right strategies like the ones taught in Income School’s Project 24 by Jim and Ricky, you can earn over $1,000/month with a well-monetized blog. For more information about blo

Before you start your blog, it is important for you to decide on your blog topic. You should choose a topic that you are passionate about (or at least very interested in), is not too seasonal and is monetizable. Blogging can be an excellent means of earning income passively. However, blogging is not that easy. It requires patience, dedication, skill and commitment before your blog can kick off and gain traffic. We highly recommend Project 24 to learn a strong methodology to build traffic and monetize your blog. Check out our guide for more on blogging.


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3. Chatbots

Chatbots can be a great source of passive income for skilled entrepreneurs living in India – and you do not have to be a developer to create them! Back in 2018, almost 80% of service businesses were already using Chatbot solutions (source). Chatbot use is therefore big business in India and around the world, and leveraging this idea can possibly generate passive income with. You can use Chatbots to generate leads, promote products through affiliate marketing, sell advertising space, interact with clients and reduce customer support time, etc.

You should ensure that you monetize your Chatbot if you want to make any sort of money from it.  For example, a good way to monetize your Chatbot can be with affiliate marketing. You can also consider designing and selling bots to companies in different industries. Creating bots is remarkably easy and requires a few simple steps. The harder part is choosing the right industry and mapping out the right interactions for the right audience. With the right strategies, you can make a good amount of passive income from Chatbots. For more on chatbots, check out our in-depth guide.


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4. Niche Sites

Niche sites are blogs meant to answer specific questions and appeal to a particular audience. Like a regular blog, a niche site can be an excellent way of earning passive income. You can create successful niche sites based on popular online searches and topics in India if you would like to target an audience in your country.  You only need to identify a specific niche, create quality content by answering popular search terms about a niche you are interested in, drive traffic to your site, and monetize it to earn income.

Ricky and Jim from Income School share actionable strategies in their course Project 24. The goal of Project 24 is to help members make a full-time income after 24 months. Using their strategies, with hard work, dedication and the right business decisions, you can earn over ₹524k INR/month (or $1K USD) with a monetized niche site. Check out our guide for more on making successful niche sites.


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5. YouTube

YouTube is a popular video-sharing platform and practically anyone in any country can make videos for the platform. You can use YouTube to earn a passive income by creating your own channel. With the right content, a growing audience, and the right strategies, you can earn over ₹74k INR/month with a monetized channel (source). Project 24 has a full YouTube course that explains exactly how to build and monetize a successful YouTube channel in 60 clear and easy-to-follow steps. Definitely check it out!

Choosing the right niche for you is important when using YouTube as a source of passive income. For instance, you can start by searching for popular topics in India if that is your target market, or you can use Google trends and autocomplete in the YouTube search engine to help you get the latest, most popular search terms.  Learn more about building a successful YouTube channel and monetizing it in our YouTube guide.


Learn More About Passive Income YouTubing

6. Selling eBooks

eBooks are becoming more and more popular around the World, and India is no exception (source). You can make an income by creating eBooks and then selling them to online customers, and it’s not as difficult as it may seem. If you have a gmail account, then you can easily get started today. Watch the video below to learn how to quickly and easily create an eBook without the need for fancy software!

Choosing a niche topic you and your audience will be interested in is important when you decide to write an eBook. Identifying your target market, their interests, needs and problems is very important when you decide to take part in this passive income stream. Your topics should also be interesting enough to yourself since you will be writing about it, and it should solve a real-world problem for your customers. Check out this guide for more information on how you can make passive income from eBooks.


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7. Dropshipping

Dropshipping is becoming more popular and India has a huge potential for eCommerce development over the next few years. Dropshipping can hence be big business in India, making it an interesting passive income stream. Starting a dropshipping service can be quite intense, especially during the earlier stages of your business. However, with the right strategies, you can turn it into a profitable passive income stream. Be sure to be doing it for the right reasons and with the correct mindset though, as there is a lot of misinformation out there. Listen to the video below (it can be listened to like a podcast) for more information.

You can choose which products to deal with including clothes, shoes, household goods, electronics, etc. Whatever your choice, it is better to ensure that you only commit to services that you can handle, especially financially. You can choose to dropship your own products, or sell other people’s products for a commission. The amount of income you can earn from dropshipping depends on the items you choose to dropship and your return on investment after expenses. For more details about dropshipping, check out our ultimate dropshipping guide here.


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8. Print on Demand

Print on demand is a good source of passive income especially when you have limited capital. You can design and sell customized products online using common eCommerce platforms that are available in India. The cool thing about print-on-demand is that you can sell products to your buyers without ever touching the products yourself. All you have to do is to design, create, and post your product to the more popular market places. Once a buyer makes a purchase, a fulfilment is sent to the company, which then prints the product based on your design.

One advantage of print on demand is that it requires little training or funds to start. In some cases, you can use tools such as Ecwid eCommerce to market your products through websites and marketplaces to increase the chances of successfully making sales. Check out our guide for more on Print on Demand.


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9. Podcasting

Podcasts are becoming a popular way of sharing knowledge to a wider audience. Podcasts are easy to make if you have a good enough mic (a smartphone can do to get started) and good information to share. For example, afew popular podcast topics in the UK include entertainment, comedy, discussion and talk shows, news and current affairs, sport, society and culture, politics, and hobbies. (source). It all depends on what you are passionate about and interested in. 

Making a good niche decision can help you save a lot of time, money, and effort. Income school’s Project 24 by Ricky and Jim has a course on how you can use podcasts to make income passively. They also have a huge list of niche ideas. Check out our guide for more on podcasting.


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10. Gaming

The gaming industry in India is massive and growing (source). To earn income passively through gaming, you must be good at it! You can search online for the most popular games that attract a wide audience, choose your favorite and start playing. Personality, interaction and community are very important when gaming for income.

All you need is to identify the service in your area, sign up, ace the test, make deliveries, and make money. Like charging scooters, food delivery is more of an active income idea because you are involved in the delivery process. However, you can do it as a highly flexible side hustle during your free time or over the weekend. For more about food delivery apps, check out our guide. Want even more passive income ideas? Check out this article on our site.


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11. Flipping Domains

Flipping domain names can generate quite a considerable amount of passive income if it is done right. If you are looking for a passive income source, flipping domain names can be a good way to start. Domain flipping is rather easy. All you have to do is to buy a domain name at a low price, hold it as you look for a buyer and sell it to your buyer at a profit. Businesses and individuals that want to be online need a domain name to create their website. We explain more in the video below.

If you are in India, you can choose domain names that relate to your location. For instance, you can choose a domain name relating to a coffee shop in your region of operation. Despite the fact that you may need to have some sort of capital to begin, flipping domains continue to be a good source of passive income when done right. You might need to conduct some research using sites like Google trends to help you discover the trends in your location. Such information will help you out when choosing which domains to buy. For more on flipping domains, please check out our guide.


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12. 3D Printing

3D printing is an emerging trend and can be monetized for passive income. 3D printing can be monetized in a variety of ways, from dropshipping, to eCommerce, to renting out a printer, to printing items for others at a cost. Of course, some of these ideas are more passive than others, it depends on your centers of interest and how passive you want your business to be.

And you do not have to be a developer or an expert to get started. Sites like Thingiverse have made it very easy for beginners to just download models and print them from a 3D printer. However, 3D printing can be fairly expensive since a good 3D printer can cost well over ₹74k INR/month INR (or $1k USD). Check out this guide for more ways on how you can make money from 3D printing.


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13. Selling Stock Photos

India is a beautiful country with breathtaking landscapes! Photography lovers can earn passive income from selling stock photos of India or other interesting pictures online. If you have plenty of beautiful yet idle photos in your house, computer, or on a harddrive, why not monetize them. You just might be sitting on a pile of cash without even knowing it. You can sell your stock photos online through sites like Shutterstock or other platforms available in Inda. Selling stock photos isn’t that hard. 

You only need to have HD photos that attract the eye, and that businesses or people need for projects. You should also consider the price and type of photo. Some can fetch higher than others can depending on the quality and attractiveness. Indian photographers can take advantage of the high demand for quality photos and use photo-based online platforms to make income passively. For more on selling stock photos, check out our guide.


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14. Ridesharing

Ridesharing is becoming a popular source of making income passively. Ridesharing platforms such as Uber are making millions off markets in India, US, the UK and other countries. According to statistica, at least 26% of respondents to their survey used ridesharing services at least once a week. If you own a car, you can earn passive income through ridesharing in major cities across India.

Ridesharing can be especially fun for people who love to travel and meet up with new people.  Some people have made good money by using ridesharing as a hobby, side hustle and a source of passive income (by sharing rides while on regular commutes). For more on ridesharing, check out our guide.


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Related Questions

What is Passive income? Passive income is a source of revenue that is self-generated, in that you have to put in an initial effort to build it, but then it can earn sustainable income over time. Passive income takes time, and most often hard work and dedication before you can start enjoying the benefits. 

It is wise for many to start a passive income stream while still maintaining an active source of revenue, such as a day job, or other professional commitment.

Can I make a Passive income in India? Yes, you can make passive income in India, just like you can in most other countries. Some forms of passive income such as blogging, podcasting, and YouTubing require an internet connection, while others might require something more tangible such as a car, house, etc.


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