Campus Recruitment Assistance Scheme, 2018 (Goa)

What is the Campus Recruitment Assistance Scheme, 2018?

Campus Recruitment Assistance Scheme, 2018 is an employer-side incentive notified by the Department of Information Technology, Government of Goa under the Goa Information Technology Policy 2018. The scheme pays an IT unit operating in Goa Rs 10,000 for every fresher it recruits through campus placement from an educational institute located in Goa.

The scheme was framed in pursuance of clause 6.2.8.b of the Goa IT Policy 2018, which was notified on 18 July 2018. The Campus Recruitment Assistance Scheme itself was published in the Official Gazette, Series I No. 21, dated 23 August 2018, and clause 1.2 states that it "shall remain in force for a period of 5 years from the date of notification". Units planning a claim today should confirm the current operative notification with the Department of IT before filing.

The policy logic is stated plainly in the notification: Goa wants to be "an aspirational geographical and human resource base for IT Units". Paying a company to hire from a Goan campus is the cheapest lever the state has to keep Goan graduates in Goa.

How much does the scheme pay, and when?

The quantum clause is a single sentence: "A recruitment assistance of INR 10,000 per Fresher will be provided to the Existing and New units that recruit through Campus recruitment from the educational institutes located in Goa."

Three practical points follow from the eligibility clauses:

• The payment is a one-time rebate per fresher, not a recurring subsidy.
• It becomes payable only after the fresher completes at least 6 months of continuous employment with the unit.
• The notification puts no ceiling on the number of freshers a unit may claim for, so a company that takes twenty freshers from Goan campuses can claim Rs 2,00,000, subject to supported Committee approval.

Under the Goa IT Policy 2018 definitions used across these schemes, a fresher is an IT professional who has completed graduation within the stipulated period of study, with not more than two years elapsed since completion.

Who can and cannot claim under this scheme?

A unit can claim if:

• The unit, new or existing, has its operations in Goa.
• The applicant is one of: a proprietorship firm; a private limited company or public limited company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013 or equivalent; a registered partnership firm under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932 or equivalent; or a limited liability partnership under the LLP Act, 2008 or equivalent.
• The bank accounts of the unit and/or its partners or directors are linked to Aadhaar.
• The unit can produce Udyog Aadhaar, clause 4.4 makes the benefit available only on its production.
• The freshers' bank accounts are linked to Aadhaar.
• The freshers were recruited directly through campus placement from educational institutes in Goa, during the operation of the policy.
• Each fresher claimed for has completed 6 months of continuous employment.

A unit is not eligible if:

• It has no operations in Goa.
• It is availing similar financial incentives under any other policy of the Government of Goa — clause 4.8 excludes such units outright.
• It hired the fresher off-campus, through an agency or job portal, or from an institute outside Goa.
• It cannot produce a letter from the institute's Training and Placement Cell validating the campus recruitment.

Individuals cannot apply. This is the point readers most often get wrong. Campus Recruitment Assistance Scheme is an incentive to the employer. A student, a graduate or a newly hired employee cannot apply for a personal benefit of Rs 10,000; only the recruiting IT unit files the claim, and the money goes to the unit.

Clause 4.9 adds a standard caveat: the provisions of the policy and the schemes framed under it are not binding representations or assurances on the part of the Government, and the doctrine of promissory estoppel will not apply against the Government if a provision is not implemented.

How to apply for Campus Recruitment Assistance

1. File the Common Application Form (Part 1) with the Department of IT. The unit submits the CAF along with the requisite set of documents. The form and documents are to be e-mailed or submitted on the web portal.
2. Collect your unique registration number. The Department of Information Technology generates a unique registration number for each unit on the basis of the CAF. Every later claim quotes this number.
3. Wait until each fresher has completed 6 months of continuous employment. Filing before that date defeats clause 4.6.
4. Obtain a letter from the Training and Placement Cell of each educational institute. The letter must validate the campus recruitment by the unit and must include a list of all candidates recruited, their area of study, year of graduation and date of campus recruitment. This is the single document that carries the claim.
5. Submit the Common Application Form (Part 2) with the Campus Recruitment Assistance Form (Annexure 1) and the Declaration Form (Annexure 2) to the Due Diligence Committee, along with the requisite set of documents, by e-mail or on the web portal. Annexure 1 asks for the name of each institute, the date of campus recruitment and the number of freshers recruited who have completed six months or more of employment.
6. Track the 90-day timeline. Scrutiny as per checklist and due diligence is set at D+30 days, approval by the supported Committee at D+60 days, and issue of the sanction order or regret letter with disbursement at D+90 days.

Claims can be filed on a quarterly, half-yearly or annual basis after the relevant expenditure is incurred, so a unit hiring in two placement seasons can consolidate or split its claims as convenient.

How is the claim evaluated and paid?

Two bodies are named in the scheme. The Due Diligence Committee receives the Common Application Form Part 2 and the incentive-specific forms and conducts the scrutiny. The supported Committee is the competent authority to accept or reject any claim, and the scheme states that "The decision of the Committee shall be final and binding on the applicant." Based on the evaluation by the committee, the approved amount is disbursed.

Because the bank accounts of the unit and of its partners or directors must be Aadhaar-linked, an account mismatch is a common cause of delay at the disbursement stage rather than at the approval stage.

What are the common reasons a claim is rejected?

• Claiming too early. A fresher who has not completed six months of continuous employment does not count, however genuine the campus hire.
• Off-campus hires. Recruits found through referrals, portals or consultants fail clause 4.7 even if they are freshers from a Goan college.
• A vague placement cell letter. A generic "we confirm the company visited our campus" letter is not enough; the letter must list each candidate, their area of study, year of graduation and date of campus recruitment.
• No Udyog Aadhaar. Clause 4.4 makes the benefit conditional on producing it.
• Double-dipping. A unit already drawing a similar incentive under another Government of Goa policy is excluded by clause 4.8.
• Aadhaar linkage missing on the unit's or the freshers' bank accounts.

Where do I raise a query or a grievance?

Applications, claims and queries go to the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Government of Goa, whose schemes and policies page carries the IT Policy 2018 scheme list. The Startup Promotion Cell of the same department, at IT HUB, 2nd Floor, Altinho, Panaji, Goa 403001, operates a helpline on 1800-233-5060 and the address spc-dit.goa@gov.in for start-up policy matters, and is the usual first point of contact when the IT policy schemes desk is not reachable.

Key facts to remember

• Campus Recruitment Assistance Scheme, 2018 is a Department of IT, Government of Goa incentive under the Goa IT Policy 2018.
• Rs 10,000 per fresher, one time, to the employing unit.
• Payable only after the fresher completes 6 months of continuous employment.
• Recruitment must be direct campus placement from an educational institute located in Goa.
• Udyog Aadhaar is mandatory; unit, director and fresher bank accounts must be Aadhaar-linked.
• Individuals and employees cannot apply; only the IT unit can.
• Claims may be filed quarterly, half-yearly or annually; disbursement timeline is 90 days.
• Units drawing a similar incentive under another Goa policy are excluded.

How to check your Campus Recruitment Assistance claim status

The scheme does not run a public, self-service tracking portal where a unit can enter a claim number and see a live status bar. Status has to be chased through the same channels the claim was filed on.

1. Quote your unique registration number. Every unit gets this number once the Department of Information Technology processes the Common Application Form (Part 1). Keep it on hand for every follow-up, whether by e-mail, phone or in person; without it, the desk cannot pull up your file.
2. Match your follow-up to the 90-day stage timeline. The scheme itself sets checkpoints of D+30 (scrutiny and due diligence), D+60 (approval by the supported Committee) and D+90 (sanction order or regret letter, with disbursement). If you are inside the D+30 window, the file is most likely still with the Due Diligence Committee; asking for a status update before D+30 rarely produces anything beyond "under scrutiny".
3. Write to the Department of IT with your registration number and claim reference. Since the Common Application Form Part 2 and the Campus Recruitment Assistance Form (Annexure 1) are submitted by e-mail or through the web portal, the same e-mail thread is usually the fastest way to ask where the file stands, as the department can trace it against the original submission.
4. Call the Startup Promotion Cell helpline (1800-233-5060) if the schemes desk does not respond. This cell, at IT HUB, 2nd Floor, Altinho, Panaji, sits within the same department and is the usual fallback contact when the IT policy schemes desk is slow to reply. Have your registration number and the date you filed Part 2 ready when you call.
5. Watch for a written outcome, not a portal notification. The scheme is designed to end in either a sanction order (with disbursement) or a regret letter at the D+90 mark. Since there is no dashboard, this letter or order is the authoritative confirmation of your claim's outcome; a unit that has heard nothing by D+90 should treat that as grounds to escalate rather than assume approval.
6. Escalate in writing if D+90 passes with no communication. A follow-up e-mail referencing the registration number, the date of Part 2 submission and the missed D+90 date gives the department a paper trail to act on, and is more effective than a phone-only follow-up at this stage.