Goa Tribal's Employment Generation Programme Scheme

What is the Goa Tribal's Employment Generation Programme Scheme?

Goa Tribal's Employment Generation Programme Scheme, usually written as GTEGP, is a subsidised business finance scheme of the Department of Tribal Welfare, Government of Goa. It targets educated unemployed people from Goa's notified tribal communities who want to start their own enterprise instead of waiting for salaried employment.

GTEGP is not a grant. It is a loan covering 95% of the project cost, on which the government pays a 40% subsidy, charges only 4% interest per annum, levies no penal interest, and allows repayment over 60 to 120 EMIs. The promoter puts in 5% of the project cost.

The scheme is operated with the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) as the disbursing channel and the Goa State Scheduled Tribe Finance and Development Corporation in the delivery chain, with a GTEGP Task Force Committee (GTEGP-TFC) deciding repayment terms and moratorium.

Key features

• Project cost up to Rs 25 lakh for micro and small manufacturing, Rs 15 lakh for service and trade enterprises.
• 40% subsidy on the loan amount and 4% per annum interest.
• Moratorium of 3 to 6 months before repayment starts.
• Compulsory 7-day entrepreneurship training within six months of sanction.
• Working capital allowed at 35% for manufacturing and 80% for service and trade, rising to 100% for agricultural produce trading.

How much can be financed under GTEGP?

On top of these limits the scheme fixes:

• Subsidy on the loan amount: 40%
• Promoter's contribution: 5%
• Interest rate: 4% per annum
• Penal interest: nil
• Repayment: 60 to 120 EMIs, as decided by the GTEGP Task Force Committee
• Moratorium: 3 to 6 months, at the Committee's discretion
• Security: first charge of mortgage or hypothecation on fixed assets such as building, furniture and machinery, and on current assets such as trading goods and raw material

Who is eligible for GTEGP?

You can apply if:

• You are unemployed.
• You are between 18 and 45 years of age.
• You have passed Class 4, a condition the scheme allows to be relaxed in deserving cases.
• You are a member of a tribal community notified by the Government of Goa.
• You have been a permanent resident of Goa for at least 15 years.
• Your proposed activity is a micro or small manufacturing enterprise, a service enterprise or a trade enterprise.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are a defaulter to any bank or financial institution. This is an express exclusion.
• Your proposed activity is a farming activity, involves tobacco products, or falls in the red category of industries.
• You are outside the 18 to 45 age band, or fall short of the 15-year residence requirement.
• You do not belong to a notified tribal community of Goa.

What guarantee is required?

The collateral requirement scales with the loan size:

• Up to Rs 2,00,000: personal guarantee of the applicant and a spouse, parent or relative.
• Rs 2,00,000 to Rs 6,00,000, one or more third-party guarantors, depending on the loan amount. A guarantor may be an employee of the State Government, a government corporation, an aided institution or a company of repute, or a person owning unencumbered immovable property in Goa of commensurate value.
• Above Rs 6,00,000 — a notarised copy of ownership documents of the guarantor's unencumbered immovable property, commensurate with the loan. The guarantor must not be a defaulter with any financial institution or bank.

How to apply for the Goa Tribal's Employment Generation Programme

1. Visit the Department of Tribal Welfare, Shram Shakti Bhavan, 5th Floor, Patto, Panaji, Goa 403 001, and take a print of the application proforma or request a hard copy from the concerned authority.
2. Fill in the application form in duplicate, paste passport-size photographs signed across, and attach self-attested copies of the caste certificate, birth certificate, qualification certificate, 15-year residence certificate, house tax receipt, EPIC or UID, PAN card and bank passbook, for both the borrower and the guarantor.
3. Prepare the project report in the prescribed form, also in duplicate, with quotations from authorised dealers for every asset to be acquired and for raw material or stock.
4. Attach the NOC or trade licence from the Panchayat or Municipality, any other NOC required from a government department, the premises owner's NOC on Rs 50 stamp paper where the premises are not your own, the latest tax receipt or shop registration for the premises, and electricity or water connection proof where relevant.
5. File the self-declaration in the format supplied with the application form.
6. Submit the complete set to the concerned authority at the Directorate and retain an acknowledged copy.
7. After sanction, complete the compulsory entrepreneurship training of up to 7 days within six months of the sanction date.

What happens after sanction?

Once the GTEGP-TFC sanctions a case, the loan is disbursed through the Economic Development Corporation, which receives a service charge of Rs 50,000 for each Rs 1,00,00,000 of subvention disbursed to beneficiaries, plus 1% out of the 2% per annum interest recovered from beneficiaries.

The beneficiary's obligations begin at that point:

• Complete the 7-day entrepreneurship training within six months.
• Create the assets set out in the sanctioned project report, since these carry the first charge of mortgage or hypothecation.
• Begin EMI repayment after the moratorium ends.

What happens on default?

Default under GTEGP is not treated as an ordinary private loan default. The outstanding amount is recovered as arrears of land revenue, or under the Public Money Recovery Act, through the Debt Recovery Tribunal, or under any other relevant Act and rules.

That is why the guarantor requirements tighten sharply above Rs 6,00,000 and why the scheme excludes existing defaulters at the application stage.

Why GTEGP applications get rejected

• Existing default with a bank or financial institution, found at verification.
• Ineligible activity: farming, tobacco products or a red-category industry.
• Age outside 18 to 45 on the date of application.
• Residence certificate short of 15 years.
• Project report without dealer quotations, so the project cost cannot be verified.
• No trade licence or NOC from the Panchayat or Municipality for the proposed premises.
• Guarantor's property already encumbered, or the guarantor being a defaulter.
• Documents submitted for the borrower only, when the checklist requires the same set for the guarantor.

Where to get help with GTEGP

• Directorate of Tribal Welfare, Shram Shakti Bhavan, 5th Floor, Patto, Panaji, Goa 403 001.
• Phone: 0832-2438024. Fax: 0832-2438052.
• Email: dir-tw[dot]goa[at]nic[dot]in
• Goa State Scheduled Tribe Finance and Development Corporation Ltd and the Economic Development Corporation, for questions on disbursement and repayment schedules.
• Feedback and Grievance on tribalwelfare.goa.gov.in for written complaints.

GTEGP application forms are issued by the Directorate. No agent can arrange a sanction, and the interest rate, subsidy and repayment terms are fixed by the scheme, not negotiable at the branch.

How to check your application status

GTEGP has no online tracking portal, so status has to be followed up directly with the offices that handle the file at each stage.

• At the Directorate of Tribal Welfare: Once you submit the application at Shram Shakti Bhavan, Patto, Panaji, ask for the acknowledgement copy with a receipt number or diary number. Quote this number when you call or visit to check whether the file has moved to scrutiny, to the GTEGP Task Force Committee for sanction, or has been returned for missing documents.
• By phone: Call the Directorate of Tribal Welfare on 0832-2438024 during office hours, giving your name, the scheme name and your application or receipt number. For queries specifically about disbursement or the repayment schedule once a loan is sanctioned, the Economic Development Corporation and the Goa State Scheduled Tribe Finance and Development Corporation are the right offices to call, since they handle the money after the Directorate approves the case.
• By email: Written queries can be sent to the Directorate's email address (dir-tw[dot]goa[at]nic[dot]in), stating the applicant's name, address and the date of submission.
• Through the Feedback and Grievance channel: If a call or email does not get a response within a reasonable time, use the Feedback and Grievance option on tribalwelfare.goa.gov.in to lodge a written status query or complaint, which creates a traceable record of your follow-up.
• In person: Because GTEGP is processed entirely offline and the file physically moves between the Directorate, the GTEGP Task Force Committee and the Economic Development Corporation, an in-person visit to the Directorate with your acknowledgement copy is often the fastest way to learn the exact stage, especially if the case is awaiting the Committee's decision on moratorium or EMI terms.

There is no SMS alert or automated status update for GTEGP. Keep the acknowledged copy of your application safe, since it is the only reference the Directorate has to look up your file quickly.