Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Udyog Uday Yojana: Assistance for Raising Capital through SME Exchange

What is Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Udyog Uday Yojana?

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Udyog Uday Yojana is a package of MSME incentives for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs in Gujarat, notified by the Industries and Mines Department through Government Resolution No. SSI/102020/332376/CH dated 1 September 2020, and published on ic.gujarat.gov.in under the Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020. The GR fixes the operative period of the yojana as 7 August 2020 to 6 August 2025, running from the date the Industrial Policy 2020 was announced.

The yojana is administered by the MSME Commissionerate, Gandhinagar. It contains fifteen numbered component schemes covering capital investment subsidy, interest subsidy, quality certification, technology acquisition, patent registration, energy and water saving, SME exchange fundraising, power connection charges, basic industrial infrastructure, entrepreneurship training with mentoring and sustenance allowance, GIDC multi-storeyed sheds, privately developed sheds, rent assistance, exhibition participation and GIDC plots.

This guide covers Scheme 7 of the yojana: Assistance for raising Capital through SME Exchange. The transliterated Gujarati name of the parent yojana, often written as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Udyog Uday Yojana or simply Udyog Uday Yojana, refers to the same GR.

Why the SME exchange component exists

The GR explains the reasoning in two lines. Under SEBI's guidelines, an MSME can raise equity capital through an SME exchange, a dedicated platform for smaller companies to list and raise funds without the cost and disclosure load of a main board listing. Raising equity that way still costs money in merchant banker, registrar, legal and listing fees, which is a real barrier for a first-generation SC or ST promoter. To encourage MSMEs to take this route rather than depend entirely on debt, the state reimburses part of that cost.

The Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020 itself describes the same idea for the general MSME population: assistance to support raising funds through the SME exchange on a one-time basis. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Udyog Uday Yojana raises the percentage for SC and ST enterprises.

How much assistance is given?

Under the GR, an eligible enterprise gets:

• 30% of the expenditure incurred on raising funds through the SME Exchange
• maximum Rs 5 lakh
• one time, paid after successful raising of equity as per the scheme approved by the SME exchange, during the operative period of the yojana

For comparison, the general Gujarat MSME benefit under the Industrial Policy 2020 is 25% of expenditure incurred on raising equity capital through an SME exchange, maximum Rs 5 lakh, one time. The Ambedkar Udyog Uday Yojana rate for SC and ST enterprises is five percentage points higher, on the same Rs 5 lakh ceiling.

The GR adds one further point about equity: GVFL may take equity in enterprises registered with the SME Exchange. That is a separate, optional route and not part of the reimbursement itself.

Who is eligible for this assistance and who is not eligible?

Eligible

• A Micro, Small or Medium Enterprise as defined under the MSMED Act, 2006 and its later amendments, which has obtained acknowledgement of Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum or Udyam Registration.
• An SC/ST enterprise, meaning an enterprise in which the contribution of the SC or ST entrepreneur is 51% or more. The general conditions of the GR add that any legal entity: partnership, company, LLP and so on, with 51% or more shareholding of an SC or ST entrepreneur or applicant is eligible for all schemes under the resolution.
• An enterprise that has listed on an SME exchange and successfully raised equity as per the approved scheme during the operative period.
• MSME status is judged on the date of listing on the SME exchange, which matters because a growing company can cross the medium-enterprise threshold after listing.

Not eligible / cannot apply

• Enterprises without 51% or more SC or ST contribution. Those must use the general Scheme for Assistance to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises instead.
• Individuals as individuals. This is an enterprise incentive; there is no personal grant for a promoter.
• Enterprises that apply more than one year after the listing date, which falls outside the condition in the GR.
• Enterprises that have not actually raised equity. Assistance is payable only after successful raising of equity, not on filing or on approval.
• Enterprises claiming the same component from another state department, unless that other scheme specifically allows it.
• The assistance is one time, so an enterprise that has already drawn it cannot draw it again for a further raise.

What documents does the enterprise need?

How to apply for the SME Exchange assistance

1. Confirm the 51% test before listing. SC or ST contribution in the enterprise must be 51% or more, and MSME status is assessed on the date of listing. Fix the cap table before the issue, not after, because a dilution at listing that drops SC/ST holding below 51% will cost the claim.
2. Complete the listing and raise the equity on an SME exchange platform as per the scheme approved by that exchange. Keep the approval letter, the listing date record and every invoice for issue expenses.
3. Assemble the expenditure record. Collect merchant banker fees, registrar fees, legal and professional fees, exchange listing fees and related costs, and get them certified by a chartered accountant.
4. File the application within one year of the listing date on the Investor Facilitation Portal at ifpgujarat.gov.in, in the prescribed application form published by the MSME Commissionerate, uploading the Udyam registration, caste certificates, shareholding proof, listing documents, expenditure statement and CA certificate.
5. Respond to scrutiny. The MSME Commissioner's office scrutinises the claim, verifies the SC/ST holding and the expenditure, and may ask for clarification or additional papers.
6. Receive sanction and reimbursement. Under the GR, sanction and disbursement for Scheme 7 is done by the office of the MSME Commissioner rather than the District Industries Centre. The reimbursement of 30% up to Rs 5 lakh is credited to the enterprise's bank account.

Because the MSME Commissionerate is supported under the GR to prescribe forms, checklists and detailed procedures, always download the current application form from the Industrial Policy 2020 section of ic.gujarat.gov.in rather than reusing an older copy.

How the money reaches the enterprise

The State Level supported Committee constituted under the GR monitors implementation of all fifteen component schemes, including those sanctioned by District Industries Centres. Its members are the Commissioner MSME as chairperson, a Joint or Deputy Secretary of the Industries and Mines Department, the Financial Adviser of the department, the Additional Industries Commissioner, the President of the Gujarat Small Scale Industries Federation, and a Joint or Deputy Commissioner of Industries as member secretary.

Budget for the yojana comes from two separate heads, Demand No. 95 under Major Head 2851 for Scheduled Caste beneficiaries, and Demand No. 96 under the Tribal Area Sub Plan for Scheduled Tribe beneficiaries.

General conditions across the yojana

1. An enterprise that has availed assistance under any scheme of the yojana is not entitled to benefit under another state government department's scheme for the same component, unless that scheme says otherwise.
2. The enterprise may avail a Government of India scheme, but total assistance from all sources must not exceed the actual investment or expenditure.
3. An enterprise is eligible under all the component schemes it separately qualifies for; taking the SME exchange benefit does not block a claim under, say, the capital investment subsidy or the exhibition scheme, provided each component's own conditions are met.
4. Detailed procedures and implementation guidelines issued by the MSME Commissionerate are final and binding.

Common reasons this claim gets rejected

• SC/ST holding falls below 51% at the date of listing after dilution in the public issue.
• Application filed after the one-year window from the listing date.
• Equity not actually raised — an approved but unsubscribed or withdrawn issue does not qualify.
• Expenditure not certified by a chartered accountant, or invoices not in the enterprise's own name.
• Ineligible costs claimed, such as ongoing annual listing maintenance rather than the cost of raising the fund.
• Udyam registration missing or lapsed, so MSME status cannot be verified.
• Same component already reimbursed under another state scheme.

Key dates and current status

• 7 August 2020: yojana comes into force with the announcement of the Gujarat Industrial Policy 2020.
• 1 September 2020; GR No. SSI/102020/332376/CH issued.
• 6 August 2025; end of the five-year operative period as notified.

Gujarat has since published the Viksit Gujarat Industrial Policy 2026 on ic.gujarat.gov.in. Because the notified operative period of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Udyog Uday Yojana ended on 6 August 2025, an enterprise that listed recently should confirm with the MSME Commissionerate or its District Industries Centre whether the yojana has been extended or replaced before assuming the benefit is still open.

Where to get help

• Office of the Industries Commissionerate, Block No. 1, 2nd Floor, Udyog Bhavan, Gandhinagar 382 010, Gujarat. Phone 23252683 / 23252617.
• MSME Commissioner, Gandhinagar, the sanctioning authority for this component.
• General Manager, District Industries Centre of your district. The local first point of contact for MSME scheme queries and application help.