Financial Assistance to Disabled for Self Employment
Financial Assistance to Disabled for Self Employment is a Maharashtra scheme giving a project package of up to Rs 1,50,000 to unemployed persons with at least 40 per cent disability, aged 18 to 50, with annual family income below Rs 1,00,000. A nationalised bank lends 80 per cent and the department pays a 20 per cent subsidy capped at Rs 30,000. Apply at the District Social Welfare Office.
| Ministry | Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyang Saksham Vibhag), Government of Maharashtra |
|---|---|
| Benefit | Project cost up to Rs 1,50,000 — 80 per cent bank loan plus 20 per cent government subsidy up to Rs 30,000 |
| Maximum benefit | Rs 30,000 subsidy within a project of up to Rs 1,50,000 |
| Application mode | Offline at the District Social Welfare Office, Zilla Parishad (Assistant Commissioner, Social Welfare for Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban) |
| Helpline | 022-40145176 (Persons with Disabilities Welfare Department, Mumbai) |
| Official website | https://depwd.maharashtra.gov.in/en/scheme/financial-assistance-to-disabled-person-for-self-employment/ |
What is Financial Assistance to Disabled for Self Employment?
Financial Assistance to Disabled for Self Employment is a state-funded scheme of the Government of Maharashtra, now administered by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyang Saksham Vibhag) and delivered through the Social Welfare machinery at district level. According to the department's own scheme page, the objective is "to facilitate self-employment for persons with disabilities who are currently unemployed", covering self-employment ventures, small-scale business and agro-based projects.
The scheme is a loan-plus-subsidy package, not a cash grant. The total project cost supported is up to Rs 1,50,000. Of this, 80 per cent is a term loan from a nationalised bank and 20 per cent, subject to a ceiling of Rs 30,000, is a subsidy from the Social Welfare Department. On a full Rs 1,50,000 project this works out to Rs 1,20,000 of borrowing and Rs 30,000 of government money. Understanding this split before you apply is important, because the largest part of the package has to be repaid.
Maharashtra created a separate Divyang (Persons with Disabilities) department in 2023 and moved the disability portfolio out of the Social Justice and Special Assistance Department. The scheme content, forms and district offices carried over unchanged, which is why the sanctioning authority is still called the District Social Welfare Office.
Who is eligible for this scheme?
You can apply if all of the following are true:
- You have a minimum 40 per cent disability certified by the competent authority. Under the Social Justice Department's Government Decision dated 13 September 2022, persons with disabilities in all 21 categories listed in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 are covered.
- You are aged between 18 and 50 years.
- Your annual income is below Rs 1,00,000.
- You are a domicile of Maharashtra.
- You are currently unemployed and propose to start a business, small-scale enterprise or agro-based project.
- You submit a project proposal with the proposed project cost.
You cannot apply / are not eligible if:
- Your certified disability is below 40 per cent.
- You are under 18 or over 50 years old.
- Your annual family income is Rs 1,00,000 or more.
- You are not a domicile of Maharashtra, even if you work in the state.
- You are already in regular salaried employment. The scheme is for the unemployed.
- You cannot produce a disability certificate or UDID card. There is no substitute for this document.
- A nationalised bank refuses the loan on credit grounds. The government subsidy cannot be released on its own, because it is structured as 20 per cent of a bank-financed project.
How much assistance is given?
| Component | Share | Amount on a Rs 1,50,000 project |
|---|---|---|
| Nationalised bank loan | 80 per cent | Rs 1,20,000 (repayable) |
| Social Welfare Department subsidy | 20 per cent, capped at Rs 30,000 | Rs 30,000 (not repayable) |
| Total project cost supported | 100 per cent | Up to Rs 1,50,000 |
Because the subsidy is capped at Rs 30,000, a project above Rs 1,50,000 does not attract a larger grant. The extra cost has to be met by the applicant. Smaller projects are also sanctioned; a Rs 60,000 project, for example, would carry a subsidy of Rs 12,000.
What documents are required?
| Document | Mandatory | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Disability certificate / UDID card | Yes | Must show 40 per cent or more |
| Maharashtra domicile certificate | Yes | Residence requirement |
| Income certificate | Yes | Must show annual income below Rs 1,00,000 |
| Age proof | Yes | To establish the 18 to 50 band |
| Project proposal with costing | Yes | Business plan and equipment list |
| Aadhaar card | Yes | Identity and DBT seeding |
| Bank passbook | Yes | Preferably at the lending bank |
| Passport-size photographs | Yes | For the prescribed form |
| Supplier quotation | No | Often asked for, to justify the project cost |
How to apply for financial assistance for self-employment
- Get or renew your disability certificate. Obtain a certificate showing at least 40 per cent disability from the district civil surgeon or the notified medical board, or use your UDID card.
- Collect an income certificate and domicile certificate from the tahsildar or through a Setu / Aaple Sarkar centre. Both are checked before the file moves.
- Write the project proposal. Set out what business you will start, the equipment or stock needed, a supplier quotation where possible, and the total project cost. The district office uses this to decide the subsidy.
- Collect the prescribed application form from the District Social Welfare Office, Zilla Parishad. In Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban the office is the Assistant Commissioner, Social Welfare.
- Fill the form completely, affix the passport-size photograph, attach every document listed above, and submit the file at the same office. Take an acknowledgement with a date and inward number.
- Attend the district scrutiny. The office verifies disability percentage, income, age and domicile, and assesses the project.
- Take the sponsorship letter to the nationalised bank. The bank appraises and sanctions the 80 per cent loan.
- The department releases the 20 per cent subsidy to the loan account or to your Aadhaar-seeded bank account once the loan is sanctioned and disbursed.
How to check the status of your application
There is no online tracking screen for this scheme. Check status in this order:
- Quote your inward number and date at the District Social Welfare Office and ask which stage the file is at: scrutiny, sanction, or bank referral.
- If the file has gone to the bank, ask the branch manager for the loan application status, since the department cannot release the subsidy until the bank acts.
- Escalate to the Assistant Commissioner, Social Welfare for the district, or to the Divisional Deputy Commissioner, Social Welfare, if the file is stuck.
Why applications get rejected, and how to fix them
- Disability below 40 per cent on the certificate. Re-assessment by the medical board is the only route.
- Income certificate above Rs 1,00,000. The certificate must be for the current or immediately preceding financial year.
- Age outside 18 to 50. No relaxation is published.
- Vague project proposal with no equipment list or costing — the most common fixable reason. Attach a supplier quotation and redo the costing.
- Bank declines the loan. Approach a different nationalised bank branch, or reduce the project size so the borrowing is affordable.
- District target exhausted. Physical and financial targets are allotted per district each year; a late-year application may be carried to the next year.
- Documents not self-attested or incomplete. Re-submit with a fresh acknowledgement.
Key dates
The department's scheme page carries a publication date of 1 December 2023, which is when the new Divyang department republished it. The governing eligibility expansion to all 21 disability categories comes from the Social Justice Department's decision of 13 September 2022. No annual application window has been notified: districts accept applications through the year and process them against that year's targets, so applying early in the financial year improves your chances.
Grievance and contact
- District Social Welfare Office, Zilla Parishad, the sanctioning office in every district.
- Assistant Commissioner, Social Welfare Office, for Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban.
- Persons with Disabilities Welfare Department, 31, 32, 35A – A Wing, 3rd Floor, Mittal Tower, Barrister Rajani Patel Marg, Nariman Point, Mumbai 400021. Office number 022-40145176.
- Maharashtra Citizen Contact Centre: 1800 120 8040 (toll free, 24x7).
No fee is charged for the application form or for processing. No agent can promise a sanction; the subsidy is released only against a bank-sanctioned loan.
Documents required
Frequently asked questions
How much money does the scheme give?
The scheme supports a project of up to Rs 1,50,000, of which a nationalised bank lends 80 per cent and the Social Welfare Department pays a subsidy of 20 per cent subject to a ceiling of Rs 30,000. So the maximum government grant a beneficiary receives is Rs 30,000; the rest is a repayable bank loan.
What disability percentage is needed?
A minimum of 40 per cent disability certified by the competent medical authority. Following the Social Justice Department's decision of 13 September 2022, all 21 disability categories recognised under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 are covered, not only the four categories named in older circulars.
What is the age limit for this scheme?
The applicant must be between 18 and 50 years of age. A person aged 51 or above cannot apply under this scheme, though other disability schemes such as aids and appliances assistance have no upper age bar.
What is the income limit?
Annual income must be below Rs 1,00,000. This is verified through an income certificate from the tahsildar, and an applicant above the limit is not eligible.
Can I apply online for this scheme?
No. The department's own scheme page directs applicants to submit the prescribed form with documents to the District Social Welfare Office, Zilla Parishad, or to the Assistant Commissioner, Social Welfare Office for Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban. There is no dedicated online portal for this scheme.
Do I still have to repay a loan?
Yes. Eighty per cent of the project cost is a commercial loan from a nationalised bank and must be repaid on the bank's terms. Only the 20 per cent government share, capped at Rs 30,000, is a subsidy and is not repaid.
What kinds of businesses are covered?
Self-employment ventures, small-scale business and agro-based projects are all covered by the scheme's stated objective. The district office assesses whether the proposed project is viable at the cost claimed.
Is this the same as the scheme for trained disabled persons?
No. Maharashtra runs a separate, much smaller scheme, Financial Assistance for Self-Employment to Trained Disabled Persons, which gives Rs 1,000 for a tool kit to someone who has completed vocational training at a government or government-recognised institution. That scheme has no bank-loan component.
More from the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyang Saksham Vibhag), Government of Maharashtra
- Financial Assistance for Aids and Appliances for Disabled Persons
- Special Education and Vocational Training through Government Institutions
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