Lift companies in India: list, state lift laws and how to choose

The quick answer

Lift companies in India fall into four kinds: multinational makers such as Otis, Kone, Schindler, TK Elevator, Mitsubishi Electric, Hitachi and Fujitec; Indian makers such as Johnson Lifts; thousands of regional firms that install and service lifts in one city or state; and the component and maintenance specialists behind them. Starleads' data holds 3,409 lift and elevator companies across 26 states, and half of them are in just three: Maharashtra, Delhi and Telangana. Whoever you pick, the rules come from your state, not from the company: Maharashtra's Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks Act, 2017 was reported to come into force on 1 November 2026, and Karnataka has had its own Act since 2013.

This guide is for three kinds of readers: building owners and developers choosing a lift company, suppliers and service firms that want to sell to lift companies, and sales teams looking for a lift companies list with contact numbers. It covers where the companies are, what the state laws and BIS standards ask of them, how to choose one step by step, and what Starleads' list holds and where it falls short.

Who makes, installs and maintains lifts in India

"Lift company" means different things depending on who is searching. A housing society wants someone to install or maintain one lift. A developer wants a supplier for forty lifts across three towers. A steel or control-panel maker wants to sell to the people who build lifts. It helps to know the layers of the trade.

Kind of company	What they do	Who usually buys from them
Multinational makers	Design and make lifts and escalators, install them through their own teams, and sell maintenance contracts. Wikipedia's list of elevator manufacturers places Otis under the United States, Kone under Finland, Schindler under Switzerland, TK Elevator under Germany, Hyundai Elevator under South Korea, and Mitsubishi Electric, Hitachi, Fujitec and Toshiba under Japan.	Large developers, malls, airports, metro and railway projects, hospitals, office towers
Indian makers	Make lifts in India and run national service networks. The same Wikipedia list names Johnson Lifts in its India section.	Residential and commercial developers, institutions, government buildings
Regional installers	Buy components (machines, controllers, doors, cabins, guide rails), assemble, install and maintain lifts in one city or region. Most rows in Starleads' lift list look like firms of this kind.	Housing societies, small builders, hotels, schools, factories, shops
Maintenance (AMC) firms	Service lifts installed by others under annual maintenance contracts, and repair or modernise old lifts.	Societies and building owners with lifts out of the maker's warranty
Component and special-lift firms	Control panels, drives, door operators, cabins, home lifts, hydraulic and goods lifts, dumbwaiters, car lifts, stair lifts.	Installers, factories, warehouses, bungalows, hospitals

For a buyer, the layer matters more than the brand. A regional installer may be the right choice for a five-storey society building and the wrong one for a 40-storey tower with high-speed lifts. A supplier of control panels sells to regional installers, not to Otis's head office. Keep the layer in mind when you read any "top 10 lift companies" list: those lists mix makers, installers and service firms as if they were the same thing.

Starleads does not rank lift companies, and this guide does not recommend one brand over another. Facts about named companies here come from public listings; check each company's own website and current licences before you sign anything.

Where the lift companies are: Starleads' figures

Starleads' Lift & Elevator Companies list for all of India has 3,409 businesses across 26 states and 57 cities, as shown on the list page on 1 November 2026. These are counts of contacts in Starleads' data, built from business listings, not an official census of the industry: a company with three branches can appear three times, and a firm that never listed itself is missing. Still, the counts show where the trade is concentrated.

State or city	Lift & elevator companies in Starleads' data	Notes from the list page
Maharashtra	863	The largest state list; Mumbai alone has 478, 55% of the state
Delhi	467	The second largest; the city count is 354
Telangana	384	Almost all in Hyderabad (368)
Karnataka	313	Bengaluru has 274, then Mysuru (9) and Mangaluru (5); 99% have a mobile number
Tamil Nadu	306	Chennai has 218, then Coimbatore (28) and Madurai (13)

The three biggest states hold 50% of the all-India list, and the other 23 share the rest. That matches where tall buildings go up: Mumbai and Thane, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai. In Mumbai, where a locality is given, the most companies are in Andheri East (20), Mira Road (13) and Mumbai Central (9). Gujarat appears among the next largest states on the all-India page but has no state list of its own yet.

By category, 2,885 of the 3,409 are listed as "Lifts & Elevators", 138 as "Elevators & Escalators" and 50 as "Elevator Installation & Maintenance Services". The category comes from how each business described itself, so many installers that also maintain lifts sit under the general heading.

Our lift companies list today

Right now our Lift & Elevator Companies list has 3,409 companies in 57 cities. 88% have a mobile number and 61% an email address. Most are in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai. Every list page shows 60 sample rows and offers a free Excel download, and you can buy one of 3 cities instead of all of India.

Lift companies by city and state

• Mumbai 478 contacts · 58% email · 87% mobile ₹499
• Hyderabad 368 contacts · 66% email · 87% mobile ₹499
• Bengaluru 274 contacts · 64% email · 99% mobile ₹499

Lists of the people who buy lifts

Lift companies sell to builders, architects, contractors, hospitals and hotels. If you sell to lift companies, the same lists show where their next projects come from.

• Lift & Elevator Companies 3,409 contacts · 61% email · 88% mobile ₹499
• Real Estate Agents & Developers 1,24,149 contacts · 17% email · 96% mobile ₹1,999
• Architects & Interior Designers 60,750 contacts · 53% email · 90% mobile ₹1,999
• Civil Engineers & Contractors 2,80,324 contacts · 90% email · 91% mobile ₹1,999

The rules lift companies work under

There is no single national lift licence in India. Lifts are regulated by state Acts and rules, enforced by the state's electrical inspectorate or a lift inspector, while the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) writes the technical standards. What follows comes from the official texts of two states and from BIS's own records; other states have their own Acts or rules, so check yours with the state electrical inspectorate.

Maharashtra: the Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks Act, 2017

The text of the Maharashtra Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks Act, 2017 (Act 15 of 2018), published by PRS Legislative Research, replaced the old Maharashtra Lifts Act, 1939. SCC Online reported that a government notification dated 22 October 2026 set 1 November 2026 as the date the Act comes into force. What the Act says:

• Permission before erection (section 4). An owner who wants to install a lift, escalator or moving walk must apply with erection plans and details such as the type of lift, rated speed, passenger capacity, rated load, counterweight, suspension ropes, pit depth and number of stops. Permission is valid for one year, extendable by six months at a time. No one may erect a lift without it.
• Only licensed contractors (sections 4 and 5). The owner must get the lift erected by an "approved contractor holding a valid licence under this Act". A firm can apply for a licence for erection, maintenance and testing only if it already holds an electrical contractor licence under the Central Electricity Authority's safety regulations. Renewal applications are due at least thirty days before expiry.
• Inspection and a licence to work the lift (sections 6 to 8). An inspector checks the lift and the site tests before it may be used. The licence to work it is valid for twenty years and can then be renewed for not more than five years at a time, subject to proper maintenance.
• Yearly inspection and a maintenance contract (sections 17 and 18). Every lift must be inspected at least once a year, and every owner must "enter into a Maintenance contract with the approved contractor" for cleaning, oiling, adjusting and repairing.
• Insurance and a log book (sections 23 and 24). After erection the owner must take third-party insurance covering passengers, and keep a log book of operation, breakdowns and accidents.
• The lift company can be held liable (section 25). If an accident is caused by a safety provision failing and it is attributable to the erection or maintenance company, that company can be prosecuted too.
• Penalty (section 32). A fine of up to ₹50,000, and up to ₹1,000 a day for a continuing contravention after the first conviction.

The same PRS file appends the Maharashtra Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Mah. Act XII of 2026), published on 25 March 2026. It renames the "Electrical Inspector (Lifts)" as the "Electrical Inspector", adds a Superintending Engineer who takes over many of the approvals, and moves several appeals to the Chief Electrical Inspector. It comes into force on a date the state notifies; we could not confirm that date, so ask the inspectorate which officer handles your application.

Karnataka: the Lifts, Escalators and Passenger Conveyors Act, 2012

Karnataka's Act is Karnataka Act 09 of 2013. The extract of section 4 printed with the Karnataka Lifts, Escalators and Passenger Conveyors (Amendment) Bill, 2025 says the owner must get the lift installed as per the relevant BIS codes of practice and the Central Electricity Authority's safety regulations, with materials conforming to BIS or IEC specifications. Within one month of completion the owner must notify the authorised officer and apply for a licence; electricity may not be supplied to the lift except for tests, and no one may use it, without that licence. Under section 11, an accident that injures or could have injured someone must be reported to the authorised officer, the Commissioner of Police and the District Magistrate, and the lift may not be used again without written permission. The 2025 Bill proposes moving licensing from the Chief Inspector to an "authorised officer" and updating the reference to the Central Electricity Authority's 2023 regulations, "to enhance trust-based governance"; check whether it has been passed before relying on it.

BIS standards: IS 14665 has given way to IS 17900

Many contracts and tender documents still cite IS 14665, the old Indian Standard for electric traction lifts. BIS's own record shows IS 14665 (Part 1):2000 as withdrawn and superseded by IS 17900 (Part 1):2022. The IS 17900 series, "Lifts for the Transport of Persons and Goods", is written by BIS's Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks Sectional Committee (ETD 25), and includes IS 17900 (Part 6):2022, a guide for maintenance of lifts. When a lift company quotes, ask which standard the lift is designed and tested to. An answer that names only the old standard is a reason to ask more questions, not proof of a problem.

Question	Maharashtra (Act of 2017)	Karnataka (Act of 2012)
Permission before installing?	Yes, with erection plans; valid one year	Yes, under section 3
Who may install?	Only an approved contractor licensed under the Act, who must first hold an electrical contractor licence	Installation must follow BIS codes and CEA safety regulations
Licence to use the lift	After inspection; valid 20 years, then renewals of up to 5 years	Required before use; no power except for tests without it
Ongoing duties	Yearly inspection, maintenance contract, third-party insurance, log book	Report accidents to the authorised officer, police and District Magistrate
Penalty	Fine up to ₹50,000, plus up to ₹1,000 a day if it continues	Suspension or cancellation of the licence under section 16

How to choose a lift company, step by step

People ask "which company makes the best elevators?" There is no honest single answer. The best company for a building is one that is licensed where the building is, can service the lift for twenty years, and puts everything in writing. These steps work for a housing society, a hospital or a developer.

1. Write down what you need. Number of floors and stops, passengers or load, speed, machine-room or machine-room-less, power backup, and whether you need a stretcher lift, a goods lift or a car lift. Every quote should answer the same brief, or you cannot compare them.
2. Shortlist three to five companies that work in your city. A lift needs a technician within reach for twenty years. Use our lift companies list, the companies your architect has used, and the names on lifts in buildings you know. Ask the society that owns a building what its lift has been like, not the company.
3. Check the licence. Ask for the company's licence for erection and maintenance under your state's lift law, and its electrical contractor licence where the state requires one, as Maharashtra does. Ring the state electrical inspectorate if anything looks odd.
4. Check the company itself. For a private limited company, look up its CIN and directors on the MCA portal (our company search guide shows how), check its GSTIN, and ask for three buildings it installed more than five years ago that it still maintains.
5. Compare quotes line by line. Machine and controller make, door type, cabin finish, safety devices, the standard the lift is designed to, warranty period, installation time, and who pays for civil work, power supply and permissions.
6. Read the maintenance contract before you sign the purchase. A lift is serviced for as long as it runs, so the contract matters as much as the price. Ask what the contract covers, how fast a technician comes for a breakdown and for a trapped passenger, and how much the price may rise each year.
7. Settle the paperwork. Who applies for erection permission and the licence to work the lift, who keeps the log book, and who arranges the third-party insurance the Maharashtra Act requires. Put it in the contract.

Item in a maintenance contract	What to ask the lift company
Scope	Is it labour only, or labour and parts? Which parts are excluded (ropes, machines, controllers, door operators)?
Preventive visits	How many visits a month, what is checked, and is a report signed in the log book?
Breakdowns	Response time in writing, during the day and at night, and a number that is answered on holidays
Trapped passengers	A separate, faster response time, and training for the building's staff on safe rescue
Inspections	Will the company attend the yearly inspection and fix what the inspector notes, and at whose cost?
Price	The yearly fee, GST, and the cap on increases at renewal

"How much does a four-floor lift cost in India?" is one of the questions people ask most, and we will not guess a number: the answer moves with capacity, speed, doors, cabin, brand and city, and published price lists are rare. Get at least three written quotes against the same brief, and compare the maintenance cost over ten years, not only the purchase price. Government buyers and many institutions buy lifts through tenders; our guide to government tenders explains how those work for the companies bidding.

Selling to lift companies and finding their customers

Lift companies are buyers too, and a list of them is most useful to the businesses that sell to them:

• Component makers and traders: traction machines, controllers and drives, door operators, cabins and car frames, guide rails, wire ropes, buffers, push buttons and displays. Our steel manufacturers guide covers the suppliers further up that chain.
• Service providers: recruitment of lift technicians and fitters, technical training, field-service and AMC software, vehicle fleets, uniforms and safety gear.
• Finance and insurance: working-capital lenders and insurers offering the third-party cover owners now need in Maharashtra.

Lift companies, in turn, look for buildings before they are built. The people who decide which lift goes in are developers, architects, civil contractors, hospital and hotel owners, and facility managers who run buildings once they open. Starleads' data has 1,24,149 real estate agents and developers, 60,750 architects and interior designers, 2,80,324 civil engineers and contractors, 22,575 hospitals and nursing homes, 1,26,397 hotels and resorts and 22,231 facility management and security firms across India. Our guides to real estate developers and builders, contractors and hospitals explain how to work each of those lists.

A practical approach for a lift company: pick one city, take the developers and architects there, and send a short note about one project type you do well, such as "machine-room-less lifts for G+7 residential buildings, with our own technicians in Pune". Follow up only with the people who reply. For a supplier selling to lift companies, ring the owner or the purchase head of a regional installer; in firms of this size the owner usually decides.

What Starleads' lift list holds, and where it falls short

On the list page, 88% of the 3,409 companies have a mobile number, 61% an email address, 32% a landline and 15% a website. 85% have a street address, 70% a PIN code and 63% the contact person's name. The Karnataka list is stronger on mobiles (99%), and the Tamil Nadu list has more landlines (38%). The sample rows show family-run installers next to branch offices of large makers.

Be clear about the gaps before you pay:

• Not every row is a passenger-lift company. The categories include heavy-lift and crane firms, "Elevators- Aircraft" and conveyor makers whose "bucket elevators" move grain or cement, not people. If you only want lift installers, filter the category column.
• Branches repeat. A national maker can appear once per city. That helps if you sell to branches, but count unique companies before you judge the size of the market.
• It is a listing, not a licence register. Being in the list says nothing about whether a company holds a lift licence today. Check that with the company and the state inspectorate.
• Coverage is thin outside big cities. Most of Karnataka's 313 rows are in Bengaluru, and the all-India list covers 57 cities. Small-town installers who never listed themselves are missing.

Every Starleads lift list, whether all of India, a state or a city, costs ₹499 plus 18% GST, and every list page has 60 real contacts as a free Excel or PDF sample. Look at the sample before you buy, and if it does not fit what you sell, don't buy.

Calling and emailing lift companies within the rules

Lift companies are businesses, and their owners' mobiles are business numbers, but India's telecom rules still apply when you call or text them for promotion. TRAI's preference registration page explains that any mobile user can block commercial calls and messages by SMS or a call to 1909, by IVR, on a web portal or through an approved app, choosing among eight categories, modes such as voice calls and SMS, time bands and days. Its advice to senders says businesses that send promotional messages must register as a principal entity with the telecom operators, send "through registered headers", register their message templates, and "acquire consent of customers through a registered consent template"; failing any step "will not allow you to send" commercial communication.

In practice: check numbers against the DND register before a calling campaign (our DND check guide shows how), make one-to-one sales calls from a normal business number rather than auto-dialling, use registered DLT templates for any bulk SMS, and honour every request to stop. For email, send in small batches from your own domain with a clear way to opt out; our cold email templates give wording to start from. Starleads sells business contacts only; we do not sell lists of private individuals such as flat owners or residents, and you should not try to build one.

Questions people ask about lift companies in India

Which are the top lift companies in India?

The names people see most are the multinational makers (Otis, Kone, Schindler, TK Elevator, Mitsubishi Electric, Hitachi, Fujitec and others) and Indian makers such as Johnson Lifts. "Top" depends on the building: for a tower, the maker's own service network matters; for a small society building, a well-run local installer with a valid licence and a technician nearby can serve better. Starleads does not rank companies.

How many lift companies are there in India?

There is no official count. Starleads' data has 3,409 lift and elevator companies across 26 states and 57 cities, with Maharashtra (863), Delhi (467) and Telangana (384) the largest. It is a count of listed businesses, not a census.

Which company makes the best elevators?

No brand is best for every building. Compare written quotes against the same brief, check the company's licence under your state's lift law, ask which standard the lift is designed to (the current BIS series is IS 17900), and read the maintenance contract before you sign the purchase.

How much does a 4 floor lift cost in India?

It depends on capacity, speed, doors, cabin, brand and city, and there is no official price list, so we won't quote one. Ask three companies for written quotes against the same specification and compare ten years of maintenance, not only the purchase price.

Do lift companies need a licence in India?

In states with a lift law, yes. In Maharashtra the Act of 2017 lets only an "approved contractor holding a valid licence" erect a lift, and that firm must first hold an electrical contractor licence. Karnataka requires installation to follow BIS codes and a licence before the lift is used. Check your own state's rules with its electrical inspectorate.

Is a maintenance contract compulsory for a lift?

In Maharashtra, section 18 of the Act requires every lift owner to enter into a maintenance contract with an approved contractor, and section 17 requires an inspection at least once a year. Other states set their own rules; even where it is not required, a written maintenance contract is the only way to hold a company to response times.

Can I get a lift companies list with contact numbers?

Yes. Starleads' Lift & Elevator Companies list has 3,409 companies, 88% with a mobile number and 61% with an email address, plus state and city lists. Download the free 60-contact sample first.