Tejaswini - The Radiant, Customized Livelihood Generation Scheme for Young Women of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir state government scheme
Tejaswini is a Mission Youth livelihood scheme that helps a woman domicile of Jammu and Kashmir aged 18 to 35 set up a business with a Mudra loan of up to Rs 5 lakh covering 100 per cent of project cost, an upfront subsidy of Rs 50,000 or 10 per cent of project cost, and interest reimbursement up to Rs 60,000. Applications are online.
What is the Tejaswini scheme in Jammu and Kashmir?
Tejaswini, given the full title Tejaswini - The Radiant, Customized Livelihood Generation Scheme for Young Women of J&K, is run by Mission Youth, an initiative of the Government of Jammu and Kashmir. The scheme is also written as Tejaswani in some official pages and application forms, and readers searching either spelling are looking at the same programme.
According to the Mission Youth scheme guidelines, the broad aim of Tejaswini is to provide financial assistance to young women for setting up gainful self-employment ventures suited to their skills, training, aptitude and local conditions. The guidelines set out four specific objectives: to encourage women into income generation in manufacturing, service, trading or small business; to facilitate soft finance for a new unit or for the expansion and modernisation of an existing one; to fund the acquisition of fixed assets such as plant and machinery, equipment, furniture and fixtures; and to meet working capital needs for the purchase of products, equipment and tools.
Tejaswini is best understood as a credit-linked subsidy scheme, not a grant. The money comes as a bank loan, and the government's contribution is a cushion that makes that loan cheap and effectively interest free.
Who is eligible for Tejaswini?
A woman can claim Tejaswini if:
- She is a female domicile of Jammu and Kashmir, essentially registered with Mission Youth, J&K.
- She is between 18 and 35 years of age.
- She holds a qualification of 10th standard or above. The CEO Mission Youth may relax this for deserving candidates on a case-to-case basis with proper justification.
- She is unemployed and registered with the District Employment and Counselling Centre of her district.
- She is not a defaulter to any bank or financial institution.
An enterprise also qualifies. The guidelines admit any individual woman, women entrepreneurs, or an enterprise in which women entrepreneurs hold not less than 50 per cent of the financial holding. Where the applicant is such an enterprise, the requirement of registration with the District Employment and Counselling Centre does not apply.
Preference is given to women entrepreneurs trained at R-SETIs, skill development institutions or any other training institute.
A woman cannot apply, or is not eligible, if:
- She has already availed an incentive or subsidy under any government scheme. Existing units that have taken such an incentive are also excluded.
- She has already taken a loan facility under a government-sponsored scheme.
- She is a defaulter to any bank or financial institution.
- She has already taken Tejaswini once. One woman can seek assistance under the scheme only once.
- She is in a job. The indemnity bond required from selected candidates records that she is not doing and was not doing any job in government or in the public or private sector, and that she will not take one up without repaying the loan in full.
Notably, there is no income ceiling. The guidelines state that no criteria regarding income of the family would be considered for eligibility under Tejaswini.
How much does Tejaswini pay and how is the money structured?
| Component | Amount | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Bank loan | Up to Rs 5,00,000 | Mudra loan from J&K Bank, covering 100 per cent of project cost |
| Upfront subsidy | Rs 50,000 or 10% of project cost, whichever is lower | Credited to the loan account, adjusted against monthly instalments for the first six months |
| Interest subsidy | Aggregate ceiling of Rs 60,000 per beneficiary | Interest actually charged is reimbursed to the beneficiary's account at the end of each financial year |
| Cost above Rs 5 lakh | Nil support | Self-financed by the applicant |
The banking partner is the Jammu and Kashmir Bank, or any other bank decided by Mission Youth from time to time. The bank appraises the case under its own normal assessment procedure, and Mission Youth is expressly not responsible for any default by the beneficiary. Prepayment or takeover of the loan by another bank or financial institution is not allowed at any point during the agreed loan tenure.
The interest subsidy is not automatic. It is released only on production of documents testifying to the sustainability of the activity, which may include a bank statement, an income tax statement, or a certificate from the District Level Implementation Committee. At the end of each financial year the beneficiary must also submit a GST statement, bank statement or accounts statement for the last quarter, duly certified by a Chartered Accountant, as proof that the business is actually operating. If she fails to do so, the interest subsidy is not released.
Which businesses are covered under Tejaswini?
The guidelines list fourteen heads:
- Canteen and restaurant
- Computerised desktop publishing
- Creche
- Cyber cafe
- Beauty parlour
- Day care centre
- Laundry and dry cleaning
- Mobile repairing
- Photocopying (Xerox) centre
- Boutique and tailoring
- Training institute
- Fitness centre
- Yoga centre
- Any other profitable activity, micro start-up or small business unit of a similar nature
The fourteenth head is deliberately open, so a viable proposal outside the named list can still be considered if the District Level Committee accepts it.
How to apply for Tejaswini
- Register with Mission Youth, J&K. The guidelines require the applicant to be essentially registered with Mission Youth before she can be considered.
- Prepare a DPR. Have a detailed project report drawn up for the activity you intend to finance, by a consultant empanelled by a government department or a government agency connected with entrepreneurship.
- Get an unemployment registration. Register with the District Employment and Counselling Centre of your district and obtain the certificate, unless you are applying as a women-led enterprise.
- Fill the online form. Mission Youth invites online applications and the applications are submitted digitally through the specific digital module built for the purpose on the JK e-Governance platform, reached through jkgss.jk.gov.in. The Mission Youth registration page asks for name, parents' names, date of birth, district and block, contact details, Aadhaar and PAN, educational qualification, whether the venture is new or existing, and the estimated project cost.
- Upload the documents. Photograph, Aadhaar card, domicile certificate, matriculation certificate, and the unemployment certificate where the business is new.
- Face the District Level Committee. Applications received at district level go before a committee of the Deputy Commissioner concerned, the General Manager DIC, the Deputy Director or Assistant Director Employment as district-level nodal officer, the District Social Welfare Officer, the district representative of EDI, the Lead Bank Manager, and any co-opted member. The committee scrutinises the applications and selects candidates up to the quota allotted to the district by Mission Youth for that financial year.
- Receive sanction and the loan. After the consolidated district lists reach Mission Youth, formal sanction is accorded along with release of the subsidy. The District Lead Bank Officer must process and disburse the loan within 15 days of the committee's approval.
- Complete the bonds. Furnish the indemnity bond attested by a First Class Judicial Magistrate and the affidavit undertaking to run the trade for at least five years or until the loan is fully repaid, whichever is later.
How to check your Tejaswini application status
- Sign in to the account you created on the JK e-Governance platform at jkgss.jk.gov.in with the credentials used at registration.
- Open the Tejaswini application and read the stage shown, which moves from submitted, to district scrutiny, to committee selection, to sanction.
- If the portal shows the case as selected but no loan has been offered, contact the Deputy Director or Assistant Director Employment of your district, who is the district-level nodal officer for the scheme.
- If the committee has approved the case and 15 days have passed with no disbursement, take it up with the Lead Bank Manager of the district, who is a member of the same committee.
- For anything unresolved, call Mission Youth on 8447804864 or write to missionyouthjk@gmail.com.
Why Tejaswini cases get rejected or stalled
- An earlier government subsidy, which is an outright disqualification under clause 2(ix) of the guidelines.
- Default history with a bank or financial institution, since the bank appraises the case on its own norms.
- A weak or non-empanelled DPR. The project report must come from a consultant empanelled by a government department or agency, and the bank must find the project bankable.
- District quota exhausted. Selection is limited to the number of cases sanctioned for the district for the financial year, so a technically eligible applicant can still miss out in a given year.
- Missing employment registration for a new individual venture.
- No annual proof of operation. Failure to file the CA-certified GST, bank or accounts statement at the end of the financial year stops the interest subsidy, even though the loan continues.
What obligations does a Tejaswini beneficiary carry?
The assistance comes with conditions that continue for years after disbursement. The amount must be used only for self-employment generation and only for the purpose set out in the DPR. The unit established under the scheme has to be insured by the beneficiary. The unit must be established within the period specified in the DPR. If the beneficiary deviates from the intended purpose, Mission Youth may initiate legal proceedings under the relevant provisions of law. If she defaults on repayment, the bank recovers the balance under its existing procedure and must ensure that the Mission Youth contribution is refunded on a proportionate basis.
Post-sanction monitoring is done quarterly by a district team comprising the District Evaluation and Statistics Officer, the senior-most female CDPO of the district, and a representative of the Women Development Corporation. Mission Youth reviews progress centrally and may have a detailed evaluation carried out through the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, J&K.
Help and grievance redressal
- Mission Youth helpline: 8447804864
- Email: missionyouthjk@gmail.com
- Grievance portal: the Awaz-e-Awam grievance system at jkgrievance.in
- District-level nodal officer: the Deputy Director or Assistant Director Employment of your district
- Office: Chief Executive Officer, Mission Youth, J&K, Civil Secretariat, Srinagar and Jammu
Registration and application under Tejaswini are free. No agent can charge a fee for getting a name selected, and any clarification or relaxation under the scheme can be issued only by the Chief Executive Officer, Mission Youth.
Documents required
Frequently asked questions
How much money does Tejaswini actually give?
Tejaswini gives a bank loan of up to Rs 5 lakh, not a cash grant. Mission Youth adds an upfront subsidy of Rs 50,000 or 10 per cent of project cost, whichever is lower, credited to the loan account and adjusted against the monthly instalments for the first six months. Mission Youth then reimburses the interest actually paid, subject to an aggregate ceiling of Rs 0.60 lakh per beneficiary.
Is the Tejaswini loan interest free?
Effectively yes, within limits. The guidelines state that repayment of the financial assistance provided under the scheme shall be interest free. This is achieved by reimbursement rather than by a zero-interest loan: at the end of each financial year the bank reports the interest charged case-wise, and Mission Youth credits that amount back to the beneficiary's account, capped at Rs 0.60 lakh in total.
What is the age limit and qualification for Tejaswini?
Financial assistance is given only to women between 18 and 35 years of age holding a qualification of 10th standard or above. The Chief Executive Officer, Mission Youth is competent to relax the educational qualification criterion for deserving candidates on a case-to-case basis with proper justification.
Is there an income limit for Tejaswini?
No. The guidelines say expressly that no criteria regarding income of the family would be considered for eligibility under this scheme. What matters is domicile, gender, age, qualification, unemployment and the absence of an earlier government subsidy.
Who cannot apply for Tejaswini?
A woman who has already availed an incentive or subsidy under any government scheme cannot apply, and neither can an existing unit that has done so. A defaulter to any bank or financial institution is excluded, as is anyone holding a loan already availed under a government-sponsored scheme. Men are not eligible at all, and a woman may take the benefit only once.
What kinds of business can be set up under Tejaswini?
The guidelines list fourteen activity heads, including canteen and restaurant, computerised desktop publishing, creche, cyber cafe, beauty parlour, day care centre, laundry and dry cleaning, mobile repairing, photocopying centre, boutique and tailoring, training institute, fitness centre and yoga centre, plus any other profitable activity, micro start-up or small business unit of a similar nature.
What happens if my project costs more than Rs 5 lakh?
You fund the excess yourself. The guidelines state that if the total project cost of the self-employment unit exceeds Rs 5.00 lakh, the amount over and above has to be self-financed by the applicant.
How quickly is the loan released after approval?
Within 15 days. The District Lead Bank Officer is required to ensure processing and disbursement of the loan amount within 15 days after approval is granted by the District Level Implementation Committee.
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