How to Write a Project Report (DPR) for a Bank Loan: Complete Guide to Getting Loans above ₹1 Crore Sanctioned

For loans below ₹10 lakh, the bank can decide based on what you say and your ITR. But for a loan of ₹1 crore or more — especially with CGTMSE guarantee cover — one document goes before the bank first: the project report or DPR (Detailed Project Report). The quality of this single document decides whether the file moves forward or comes back.

This guide covers exactly what to write, which pages the bank puts its finger on, and the three mistakes that get 90% of files rejected.

What is a DPR, actually?

A project report is a written plan of your proposed business/expansion, answering three questions:

1. What will you do — product, capacity, location
2. How much will it cost — the full project cost and how it will be funded
3. How will you repay — income projections and EMI capacity

The bank’s credit officer does not know you — they know this document.

The 12 sections the bank looks at (the report’s structure)

1. Introduction and entrepreneur profile — your education, experience, previous businesses, CIBIL score status.
2. Product/service and technology — what you will make, by what process, on which machines.
3. Market and demand analysis — who the buyers are, how much demand in the area, who the competitors are. If you have a local order book or LOI, attach it right here.
4. Location and infrastructure — factory/shop space, ownership/lease, power-water-transport.
5. Cost of Project — the most important table, detailed below.
6. Funding plan (Means of Finance) — how much own money, how much loan.
7. Required approvals — trade licence, fire, GST, environment (if applicable).
8. Revenue estimate — capacity × utilisation × price = sales. Starting capacity-utilisation at 60–70% is realistic.
9. 5-year profit-loss projection — net profit after raw material, wages, power, interest, depreciation.
10. Cash flow projection — the bank checks EMI servicing capacity from exactly this.
11. Ratio analysis — DSCR, break-even point. A DSCR between 1.5–2.0 makes the file look strong.
12. Risks and mitigation — what you will do if raw material prices rise or sales fall.

The project cost table: an example (₹2 crore processing unit)

Head	Amount (₹)
Land and building (less if leased/pre-existing)	60 lakh
Plant and machinery	80 lakh
Installation, power connection, utilities	10 lakh
Pre-operative expenses (licences, training, trial run)	5 lakh
Working capital margin	20 lakh
Contingency (~5%)	5 lakh
Total	2 crore
Own share (margin, ~20–25%)	50 lakh
Bank loan	1.5 crore

Every figure must have documentation behind it — machinery quotations, civil estimates, lease deeds. Writing a machinery figure without a quotation makes the file questionable.

The three things the bank looks at first in financial projections

• DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio): the year’s profit + depreciation, divided by the year’s EMI + interest. Below 1.5, the bank gets suspicious; above 2.5, it thinks it’s fictional.
• Break-even: the sales level at which profit and loss are equal. Between 50–65% is good.
• Working capital cycle: buying raw material → production → sale → how many days until the money returns — the working capital limit is set on exactly that basis.

90% of files are rejected for these three mistakes

1. Inflated income figures. Showing 100% capacity-utilisation in year one is the first sign that the report is copied. The bank’s officer knows the local market.
2. Mismatched numbers. The sales projection says ₹4 crore, but the machine’s capacity says ₹2 crore of production — turn one page and the file stumbles. Check three times, before submitting, that every number matches another.
3. Not showing your own share (margin). Asking for 100% of the project as a loan is almost never approved. You must show 20–25% own/family contribution — land, gold, NSC, and net assets of a previous business also count.

Where to get help free of cost

• jansamarth.in — the government’s loan portal; it shows schemes and banks according to your needs.
• MSME-DFO/District Industry Centre — provides project report preparation training in entrepreneur training (EDP).
• If applying for PMEGP — a project report is mandatory at the District Task Force stage; see the PMEGP guide.

Final word

A project report is not a formality — it is the first stress test of your business. If, while writing the numbers, you cannot make them add up yourself, the bank certainly won’t. And if they do add up — the path up to ₹10 crore without collateral is open, that is exactly what CGTMSE’s new limit says.

Information last verified: 30 September 2026.