Rajiv Gandhi Swavlamban Rozgar Yojana (Delhi)

What is Rajiv Gandhi Swavlamban Rozgar Yojana?

Rajiv Gandhi Swavlamban Rozgar Yojana, usually shortened to RGSRY and also spelt "Rajiv Gandhi Swavlamban Rojgar Yojna" on the department's own pages, is a self-employment loan scheme of the Delhi Khadi & Village Industries Board (DKVIB), an undertaking of the Government of NCT of Delhi.

According to the DKVIB page setting out the salient features of the scheme, RGSRY was designed, developed and promoted by the Board with the help of the Government of NCT of Delhi to create employment for unemployed youth, artisans, trained professionals, skilled technocrats and entrepreneurs, by promoting or expanding permissible industries, professions, and the tertiary and service sectors inside the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

RGSRY is a credit-plus-subsidy scheme, not a grant. The Board lends money, the Delhi government pays a small capital subsidy into the loan account after two years, and the borrower repays the rest over five years.

The three numbers that matter

• Loan ceiling: Rs 3,00,000 per proposed or functioning unit.
• Subsidy: 15 percent of project cost, maximum Rs 7,500 per entrepreneur.
• Repayment: 5 years, equal quarterly instalments, with a 12-month gap before principal recovery begins.

The Delhi government's own Economic Survey chapter on industries records the scale honestly: during 2019-20 the Board disbursed Rs 23.09 lakh to 18 units under RGSRY. This is a small, hand-worked scheme, not a mass credit programme, and applicants should plan for a face-to-face process.

Who is eligible for RGSRY, and who is not?

You can apply if you are any one of the following:

• A school or college dropout above the age of 18 years.
• An individual entrepreneur setting up or running a unit in Delhi.
• A trade professional.
• An artisan.
• A candidate who has passed out of any technical or professional institute recognised by the government or its authorised undertakings. This group does not need any further training before applying.
• A small-scale industrial unit whose total investment in plant, machinery and equipment does not exceed the ceiling prescribed for small-scale units by the central government from time to time, and which is located within the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Age limit: 18 years to 50 years.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are below 18 or above 50 years of age.
• Your unit is outside the NCT of Delhi. RGSRY finances units set up in areas that come under the purview of the Government of NCT of Delhi only.
• You have already taken a loan for the same or a similar purpose from the government or a government-controlled financial institution and have not repaid it in full with interest, or have mis-utilised it. The scheme rules say plainly that a loan shall not be sanctioned to such parties.
• Your proposed activity is not permitted under the Master Plan of Delhi for that area. In residential and non-conforming areas, only those professional or industrial activities permitted under the Master Plan can be financed.
• Your proposed business is a restaurant serving liquor or meat. The tertiary sector list in the scheme rules specifically covers "hostels, restaurants without liquor and meat".
• You cannot arrange the surety the Board requires (see below). Security is a condition of sanction, not an optional extra.

How much money do you get, and on what terms?

Loan. The quantum of loan granted to proposed and functioning units shall not exceed Rs 3,00,000. The entrepreneur must put in at least 10 percent of the amount demanded as loan from DKVIB. For weaker sections: SC, ST, OBC, physically handicapped persons, women and ex-servicemen. The contribution is only 5 percent.

Subsidy. The Government of Delhi provides a subsidy at 15 percent of the project cost, subject to a ceiling of Rs 7,500 per entrepreneur. If more than one entrepreneur joins together in a partnership, the subsidy is calculated separately for each partner at 15 percent of that partner's share in the project cost, limited to Rs 7,500 each. The subsidy component is adjusted to the borrower's loan account after a period of two years from the date the loan is disbursed.

Interest. The loan carries interest as prescribed by the Government of NCT of Delhi from time to time. The Board's rules state clearly that there is no interest subsidy. Interest accrues from the date of disbursement, and where the loan is released in instalments, interest runs on each instalment from the date that instalment is released. Because the rate is revised by notification, ask the Board for the rate applicable on the date of your sanction rather than relying on any figure quoted by a third-party website.

Repayment. Every loan with interest is repaid in full within 5 years in equal quarterly instalments. Recovery of the loan may start after a gap of 12 months from the date the loan amount is released, but interest on the released amount is recoverable from the first quarter. The borrower must hand over an equal number of post-dated cheques for the quarterly instalments of principal including interest due on the instalment date fixed by the Board, and must make sure each cheque clears. On default, the Board is entitled to act against the borrower and the sureties under the law.

Security. All applicants to whom a loan is sanctioned must furnish surety from either a government servant working on a non-transferable post in Delhi in any state or central government office or its autonomous bodies and undertakings, or by following the procedure used by commercial banks.

What can the loan be used for?

Financial aid under RGSRY may be granted to eligible projects in these groups:

• Secondary sector; tiny and cottage industries.
• Tertiary sector: trade, transportation, hostels, and restaurants without liquor and meat.
• Service sector, subject to the various terms and conditions, the provisions of local bodies and the Delhi Master Plan.

For a unit in a non-conforming area, the applicant must also submit a No Objection Certificate from the High Power Committee constituted by the Industries Department, Government of Delhi, together with a Municipal Corporation Licence for that industry. For professional or commercial activities, a registration certificate from MCD for the trade concerned is needed.

The borrower must use the loan within three months of release. The Managing Director of the Board may grant a maximum of three months' additional grace. If the money is still unused after six months, it is treated as mis-utilised and the entire amount is recovered along with 18 percent interest.

What documents are required?

The Board lists the following with the loan application form:

1. Copy of electoral card, valid passport or Aadhaar card as identity proof.
2. Two attested passport-size photographs.
3. Education proof.
4. Work-site details; proof of ownership or possession, rent agreement, no objection from the owner, and the electricity bill of the site.
5. Electricity bill of the residence.
6. For a shop, business or profession, the MCD registration certificate; for an industrial unit in a non-conforming area, the NOC of the High Power Committee and the Municipal Corporation Licence.
7. Declaration in the prescribed format (proforma attached to the form).
8. Consent letter of the surety or guarantor.

How to apply for Rajiv Gandhi Swavlamban Rozgar Yojana

1. Fix the work site and the permissions first. Confirm that your activity is allowed at that address under the Master Plan of Delhi, and start the MCD registration — or, for a non-conforming area, the High Power Committee NOC and Municipal Corporation Licence: before you file. An application without the site papers stalls at the first scrutiny.
2. Get the prescribed loan application form. Download it from the DKVIB website, or collect it from the Board office at 5th Floor, Nigam Bhawan (Old Hindu College), Kashmere Gate, Delhi-110006.
3. Apply online on the Delhi e-District portal. The Board says the applicant can apply online on the e-District portal of the Government of NCT of Delhi at edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in. Register with your Aadhaar or voter card, create the citizen login, choose the DKVIB service and upload the scanned documents.
4. Or apply offline at the Board office. Submit the filled form with all the desired documents directly at the DKVIB office, Nigam Bhawan, Kashmere Gate. Keep a stamped acknowledgement with the date on it.
5. Attach the surety consent letter and the declaration. The surety's consent letter is part of the application list, not a post-sanction formality. Identify your guarantor early.
6. Wait for the field visit and appraisal. Applications received under the scheme are dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis, so the date of submission matters. A technical or field officer verifies the site and the project before the case goes for sanction.
7. Complete the post-sanction formalities. Sign the loan agreement, hand over the post-dated cheques for the quarterly instalments, and collect the disbursement. Then use the money within three months and keep every bill.

How do you check the status of your application?

RGSRY does not have a public payment-tracking dashboard of the kind central DBT schemes have. Use these three routes instead:

• e-District portal, if you applied online, log in at edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in and use "Track your Application" with the application number generated at submission.
• DKVIB Facilitation Centre, a technical or field officer is available daily at the 5th Floor, Nigam Bhawan, Kashmere Gate, Delhi-110006. The Board publishes 9311702507 (Sh. Inder Singh, ADO) as the enquiry number for the scheme.
• Your acknowledgement; quote the acknowledgement number and date from your offline submission. Because cases are processed first come, first served, the date on the receipt is the single most useful thing you can produce.

Why RGSRY applications get rejected, and how to fix them

• The activity is not permitted at that address. This is the most common problem in Delhi. Check the Master Plan land use for your plot before you commit to a rent agreement, and get the MCD registration or High Power Committee NOC in parallel with the loan application.
• No acceptable surety. The Board requires a government servant on a non-transferable post in Delhi, or the commercial bank procedure. Line up the guarantor and get the consent letter signed before filing.
• An earlier unpaid or mis-utilised government loan. If you or your unit have an outstanding government or government-controlled institution loan for the same or a similar purpose, close it and carry the no-dues certificate.
• Own contribution not arranged. You must show 10 percent; or 5 percent if you belong to SC, ST, OBC, PH, women or ex-servicemen categories: of the amount demanded. Keep the money in a bank account you can show.
• Incomplete work-site file. Ownership or possession proof, rent agreement, owner's NOC and the site electricity bill are all listed separately. Missing any one of them sends the file back.
• Weak project detail. Since the loan is appraised project by project, a clear costing of machinery, raw material and working capital, matched to the Rs 3,00,000 ceiling, helps the field officer recommend the case.

What are the key dates and the current position?

RGSRY has no annual last date. The Board's published procedure is that applications received under the scheme are dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis, which makes early filing the only real timing advantage.

Two internal deadlines do bind the borrower once money is released: the loan must be utilised within three months (extendable by a maximum of three months by the Managing Director), and principal recovery starts 12 months after release, while interest is charged from the first quarter. The subsidy is credited to the loan account only after two years.

The Delhi Khadi & Village Industries Board also runs the centrally sponsored Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) in Delhi, which has a much higher project ceiling. If your project is larger than Rs 3,00,000, ask the same office about PMEGP rather than trying to force the project into the RGSRY ceiling.

How do you raise a grievance?

Start at the DKVIB Facilitation Centre, 5th Floor, Nigam Bhawan (Old Hindu College), Kashmere Gate, Delhi-110006, which the Board says is staffed daily by a technical or field officer, contactable on 9311702507. Take your acknowledgement receipt and a written note of what has not moved.

If that does not work, address a written representation to the Managing Director, Delhi Khadi & Village Industries Board at the same address. The Managing Director is the officer named in the scheme rules for decisions on loan utilisation and grace periods, so the office is the right level for a stuck file.

Beyond the Board, use the Government of NCT of Delhi's public grievance system and, for information about the status or the reasons recorded on your file, an RTI application to the Public Information Officer of DKVIB. The Board's website carries an RTI section for this purpose.

A last practical warning: no agent can get your name added to RGSRY. Forms are downloadable from the Board's own site and submitted either online on the Delhi e-District portal or over the counter at Nigam Bhawan. Anyone asking for a fee to "arrange" a sanction is not connected with the Board.