Coir Vikas Yojana: Coir Industry Technology Upgradation Scheme (CITUS)

What is the Coir Industry Technology Upgradation Scheme (CITUS)?

The Coir Industry Technology Upgradation Scheme (CITUS) is a capital-subsidy component of the umbrella Coir Vikas Yojana, implemented by the Coir Board under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. According to the Coir Board, CITUS is designed to help coir units modernise by installing better machinery, improving productivity and raising product quality; carrying the results of laboratory research on coir processing to the field level.

CITUS reimburses 25% of the cost of eligible plant and machinery, subject to a maximum ceiling of Rs 2.50 crore per coir unit or project. The remaining cost is met by the entrepreneur, usually with a bank term loan. Because the benefit is a share of capital cost rather than a flat payment, the actual amount depends on how much qualifying machinery a unit buys.

Key features

• Central component scheme under Coir Vikas Yojana, funded by the Ministry of MSME through the Coir Board.
• Subsidy of 25% of admissible plant and machinery cost.
• Ceiling of Rs 2.50 crore per unit/project.
• Machinery must meet Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms.
• Applications, inspection and disbursal are handled by the Coir Board.

CITUS is an enterprise support scheme, not an individual welfare benefit. It supports coir producers, processors and manufacturers who want to buy or upgrade machinery. A household worker or individual with no registered coir unit cannot apply for a personal cash benefit under this scheme.

Who is eligible for CITUS?

You can apply if:

• You run a coir production or processing unit: whether newly established or already operating.
• Your unit is registered with the Coir Board under the Coir Industry (Registration) Rules, 2008, or holds Udyam / Udyog Aadhaar registration.
• Your enterprise stays within the investment limits prescribed for MSMEs.
• The plant and machinery you are buying meets minimum BIS standards.

You cannot apply if:

• You are an individual seeking a personal cash grant with no registered coir enterprise — CITUS supports units, not persons.
• Your unit is already availing a capital subsidy on the same machinery under another central scheme such as PMEGP, Coir Udyami Yojana (CUY), the Development of Production Infrastructure (DPI) component or a technology upgradation fund. Duplicate assistance on the same asset is not eligible.
• The machinery does not conform to BIS norms, or lacks valid purchase documentation.

Applicants also accept conditions that restrict resale: assets acquired with CITUS support cannot be disposed of for seven years, and cannot be mortgaged outside approved financial institutions. Machinery suppliers must provide a minimum two-year guarantee.

What documents are required for CITUS?

How to apply for CITUS

CITUS has no walk-in personal-benefit route. Registered coir units apply online through the Coir Board:

1. Go to the Coir Board portal at coirboard.gov.in and open the CITUS scheme page under Coir Vikas Yojana.
2. Complete the online registration with the promoter's details, Aadhaar number, email, mobile number and a password.
3. Fill in the CITUS application form, entering unit details, the machinery proposed and its cost.
4. Upload the supporting documents: Coir Board/Udyam registration, the CA certificate, machinery invoices and bank details.
5. Submit the application. Coir Board officers then inspect the unit and verify the documents, generally within about 15 days.
6. On approval, the 25% subsidy is sanctioned and released to the unit's bank account, subject to the Rs 2.50 crore ceiling.

How much benefit does CITUS provide?

CITUS pays 25% of the admissible cost of plant and machinery, capped at Rs 2.50 crore per unit/project. For example, a unit that installs Rs 40 lakh of qualifying machinery would be eligible for up to Rs 10 lakh in subsidy, with the balance met by the promoter or a bank loan. The subsidy is a one-time capital incentive tied to the specific machinery approved, and is released after physical verification of the installed equipment.

Help and where to apply

• Coir Board head office: Coir House, M.G. Road, Kochi, Kerala 682016
• Official portal: coirboard.gov.in
• Regional and project offices of the Coir Board assist applicants with registration and inspection.

CITUS is part of the Government of India's effort to modernise the coir sector, much of which is still rural and household-based. By sharing the capital cost of BIS-compliant machinery, the scheme aims to raise productivity and product quality while keeping coir manufacturing viable against synthetic substitutes.

How to check your CITUS application status

CITUS does not have a public tracking number system like a consumer welfare portal; status updates come mainly through the Coir Board's own processing steps and direct contact, since each application also involves a physical inspection of the unit.

1. Log in to the Coir Board portal. Applicants who registered online at coirboard.gov.in can sign back in with the mobile number, email or password used at registration to see whether the application shows as submitted, under inspection, or sanctioned.
2. Watch for the inspection visit. Because Coir Board officers must verify the unit and the machinery in person before sanction, a firm status update usually only follows this visit, which the Board aims to complete within about 15 days of submission. If no officer has visited within that window, that itself is the point to follow up on.
3. Contact the regional or project office first. Coir Board field offices that cover the applicant's district or state typically handle the inspection and file movement directly, and can give a faster, more specific answer than the head office.
4. Escalate to Coir Board head office if needed. If the regional office cannot resolve a delay, applicants can write to or call the Coir Board head office at Coir House, M.G. Road, Kochi 682016, quoting the unit's Coir Board/Udyam registration number and the date of online submission.
5. Check the bank account for disbursal. Since the subsidy is released by direct transfer after sanction, a credited amount in the registered bank account is the final confirmation that the claim has been approved and paid; applicants should also check with their bank if a sanction communication has been received but the transfer has not appeared after a reasonable interval.
6. Keep the application reference and CA certificate copy on hand. Any follow-up, whether online, by phone or in writing, moves faster when the applicant can quote the unit's registration number, the machinery invoice details and the date of submission rather than relying on the officer to search records from scratch.

Because CITUS combines an online application with an offline verification step, delays are more often on the inspection side than the portal side, so a status check that only looks at the website may miss where the file actually stands.