Jyoti Gramodyog Vikas Yojana

What is Jyoti Gramodyog Vikas Yojana?

Jyoti Gramodyog Vikas Yojana is a Gujarat state margin money scheme run by the Commissioner of Cottage and Rural Industries under the Industries and Mines Department. The scheme exists because rural Gujarat now has reliable three-phase electricity in most villages after the Jyoti Gram programme, and the state wanted village industries to make use of that power rather than remain manual, seasonal and under-capitalised. The name is often written locally as "Jyoti Gramodyog Vikas Yojana" and sometimes transliterated as Jyoti Gram Udyog Vikas Yojana.

Jyoti Gramodyog Vikas Yojana works on the margin money model rather than the direct grant model. A rural entrepreneur puts together a project, a bank sanctions a term loan and working capital against it, and the state contributes a fixed share of the project cost as margin money. That share sits in the loan account and converts into a subsidy once the unit has operated successfully for two years. This structure is deliberate. It ties the state's money to a unit that actually runs, and it means the bank appraisal, not a departmental committee alone, decides whether the project is viable.

The scheme sits alongside the other cottage industry programmes listed on cottage.gujarat.gov.in, including Shri Vajpayee Bankable Yojana, Manav Kalyan Yojana, Dattopant Thengadi Karigar Vyaj Sahay Yojana, the Gramodyog Vikas Kendra programme and the centrally sponsored Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme. Jyoti Gramodyog Vikas Yojana occupies the middle band: bigger than the tool-kit and micro-loan schemes, smaller than the industrial cluster programmes.

Who is eligible for Jyoti Gramodyog Vikas Yojana?

You can apply if:

• You are an individual rural artisan or entrepreneur aged between 25 and 50 years.
• You have passed Class 10.
• You have either documented prior experience in the activity you propose, or a training certificate for it from a recognised institution.
• Your proposed unit will operate in a rural area of Gujarat.
• Your total project cost is above Rs 1 lakh and not more than Rs 25 lakh.
• You are a Grade-II active Self Help Group engaged in small-scale production. SHGs are assessed on their grading rather than on the individual age band.

You cannot apply if:

• You are a partnership firm. Partnerships are specifically excluded.
• You are a private limited company or any other incorporated body.
• You are a joint venture.
• You are applying as a Hindu Undivided Family.
• Your project cost is Rs 1 lakh or below, which falls outside the scheme floor, or above Rs 25 lakh, which exceeds the ceiling.
• You have already drawn margin money or a capital subsidy for the same unit under another state or central scheme such as PMEGP. Double subsidy on one unit is not allowed.

The exclusion of partnerships and companies is the criterion applicants most often get wrong. Jyoti Gramodyog Vikas Yojana is built for a single promoter or a registered self-help group, and a proposal submitted in a firm's name is returned at the District Industries Centre stage rather than at the bank.

How much money does Jyoti Gramodyog Vikas Yojana give?

The margin money is calculated in two slabs.

Worked through, a general applicant with a Rs 10 lakh project draws Rs 2.5 lakh of margin money. A woman applicant with the same Rs 10 lakh project draws Rs 3 lakh. On a full Rs 25 lakh project, a general applicant draws Rs 2.5 lakh on the first slab plus Rs 1.5 lakh on the remaining Rs 15 lakh, for Rs 4 lakh in total. An SC, ST, woman or disabled applicant on the same Rs 25 lakh project draws Rs 3 lakh plus Rs 1.5 lakh, for Rs 4.5 lakh, which is the practical maximum under the scheme.

The two-year condition is the part that catches people out. The margin money is not released as cash at sanction. It is parked and converted after two years of successful operation. A unit that shuts, is sold, or changes its line of business inside that window loses the conversion and the amount stays as loan principal.

How to apply for Jyoti Gramodyog Vikas Yojana

1. Download the application form and the Government Resolution from cottage.gujarat.gov.in, or collect a printed form from your District Industries Centre. Read the GR first, because it carries the current slabs and any revision to the eligible activity list.
2. Prepare a detailed project report. List machinery with supplier quotations, raw material, working capital and expected turnover, and make sure the total lands above Rs 1 lakh and at or below Rs 25 lakh.
3. Assemble the document set; Aadhaar, rural residence proof, Class 10 certificate, experience or training certificate, and the caste or disability certificate if you are claiming the 30 per cent rate.
4. Submit the complete file at the District Industries Centre for the district where the unit will be located, and take a dated acknowledgement.
5. Attend the site inspection. A DIC officer of Class-II rank or above visits the proposed premises to confirm the site, the power connection and the proposed activity.
6. Wait for the General Manager's recommendation. The GM of the DIC forwards recommended cases to the financing bank.
7. Complete the bank formalities. The bank appraises the project, sanctions the loan and disburses it, with the margin money component recorded separately in the account.
8. Run the unit for two years, keep the loan account regular, and the margin money is then adjusted as a subsidy.

Gujarat's cottage industry schemes are increasingly moved onto the e-Kutir portal at e-kutir.gujarat.gov.in, which handles registration, profile updates, scheme application and submission for schemes hosted there. Check e-Kutir before making the trip to the DIC in case Jyoti Gramodyog Vikas Yojana has been opened online for the current cycle.

How do I check my application status?

There is no separate public status tracker for Jyoti Gramodyog Vikas Yojana. The practical route is to quote the acknowledgement number from your DIC submission and ask the District Industries Centre where the file has reached — pending site inspection, pending GM recommendation, or forwarded to the bank. Once the file reaches the bank, the bank's loan application number becomes the reference and the DIC no longer controls the timeline. If the scheme has been enabled on e-Kutir for your cycle, the portal login shows the application stage directly.

Why applications get rejected, and how to fix them

• Project cost outside the band. A report totalling Rs 95,000 or Rs 28 lakh is out of scope. Rework the machinery list so the total sits between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 25 lakh.
• Applicant is a firm or company. Re-file in an individual promoter's name or as a Grade-II SHG.
• No experience or training proof. Get a training certificate from a recognised institution before re-applying; a self-declaration is not accepted.
• Age outside 25 to 50. There is no relaxation route published for individuals, so applicants outside the band should look at the other cottage industry schemes such as Shri Vajpayee Bankable Yojana.
• Urban address. The unit must be rural. A proposal for a municipal corporation ward is out of scope.
• Bank declines the appraisal. A DIC recommendation is not a sanction. If the bank rejects the project on viability or credit history, the margin money cannot flow, and the fix is a revised, more conservative project report.

Where do I complain or get help?

• Commissioner of Cottage and Rural Industries: 079-23259591
• Email: compcr@gujarat.gov.in
• Helpdesk numbers published on cottage.gujarat.gov.in: 9909926180 and 9909926280
• District Industries Centre for your district, which is the first point of escalation for a stalled file

No agent or middleman can charge a fee to "get your margin money sanctioned". The application form and the Government Resolution are free downloads on cottage.gujarat.gov.in, and the only legitimate payments in the process are the bank's own documented loan charges.