Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana

What is Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana?

Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana is a self-employment credit scheme of the Madhya Pradesh government, run by the Scheduled Caste Welfare Department through the District Antyavasayi Cooperative Development Committees. The scheme is named after the 15th-century saint-poet Ravidas, and is often written in Hindi as "Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana" or transliterated as Sant Ravidas Swarozgar Yojana.

Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana does not hand out cash. Instead, the department sponsors an eligible Scheduled Caste applicant to a bank, the bank appraises and sanctions a normal commercial loan, and the state government then pays part of the interest on that loan and covers the credit guarantee fee. This design lets a first-generation entrepreneur borrow at a materially lower effective cost than an ordinary business borrower.

Core numbers

• Manufacturing (udyog) projects: bank loan of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 50 lakh.
• Service and retail trade projects: bank loan of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 25 lakh.
• Interest subsidy: 5 percent per annum, for up to 7 years including the moratorium period.
• Guarantee fee: borne by the state government for eligible projects.
• Annual family income ceiling: Rs 12 lakh.

The scheme sits alongside two sibling schemes for the same community; Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Aarthik Kalyan Yojana for very small projects, and Mukhyamantri Swarojgar Yojana for the general population. Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana occupies the larger end of the range and is the one to use for a proper manufacturing unit.

Who is eligible for Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana?

You can apply if:

• You are a permanent resident of Madhya Pradesh and hold a domicile certificate.
• You belong to the Scheduled Caste category and hold a permanent caste certificate.
• Your age falls in the band notified for the scheme. The District Ujjain scheme page states 18 to 45 years; some district notices state 18 to 40 years. Confirm the current band with your district office before you build a file.
• You have passed at least Class 8.
• Your annual family income does not exceed Rs 12 lakh.
• You are setting up a new unit in manufacturing, services or retail trade.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not from the Scheduled Caste category. The scheme is category specific, and general, OBC and Scheduled Tribe applicants must use a different route such as Mukhyamantri Swarojgar Yojana.
• You are a defaulter of any bank or financial institution.
• You are already a beneficiary of another self-employment scheme of the state or central government. Taking two subsidised self-employment loans at once is not permitted.
• You are a permanent resident of another state, even if the proposed unit is in Madhya Pradesh.
• Your family's annual income is above Rs 12 lakh.

An existing running business being expanded is generally not eligible: the scheme is written for new ventures. Where an applicant is unsure, the District Antyavasayi office is the authority that decides whether a proposal counts as new.

How much benefit does Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana provide?

The headline benefit is the 5 percent annual interest subsidy on the sanctioned term loan and working capital. On a Rs 20 lakh loan, a 5 percentage point reduction in effective interest is worth roughly Rs 1 lakh in the first year alone, falling gradually as the principal is repaid. Over the full 7-year window the cumulative saving on a large manufacturing loan can run into several lakh rupees.

The subsidy is not paid to you in cash. It is credited against your loan account with the financing bank, and it is conditional on regular repayment. If instalments fall into arrears, the subsidy for that period is not released. This is the single most important thing to understand about the scheme: the benefit survives only as long as the account stays regular.

The second benefit is the credit guarantee fee, borne by the government for eligible projects covered under the CGTMSE guarantee. This matters because a first-time entrepreneur usually cannot offer collateral; the guarantee lets the bank lend without it, and the state pays the fee that would otherwise sit on the borrower.

The third benefit is entrepreneurship development training of about 12 days, delivered through an online module.

What documents are required for Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana?

How to apply for Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana

1. Open the SAMAST portal at samast.mponline.gov.in: the Madhya Pradesh single-window system for bank-financed self-employment schemes.
2. Select Create New Profile and register as an applicant using your mobile number, Aadhaar and Samagra ID. Verify the OTP sent to your mobile.
3. Choose Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana from the list of schemes, then pick whether your project is in manufacturing, services or retail trade.
4. Fill the application: personal details, caste and domicile certificate numbers, education, family income, the proposed activity, project cost and the loan amount sought.
5. Upload the scanned documents listed above, including the project report. Keep each file within the size limit shown on the portal.
6. Select your preferred bank branch. The portal routes the file to that branch through the district Antyavasayi office.
7. Submit the application and save the application number shown on screen. You will need it for every follow-up.
8. Attend the bank interview when called, carrying originals of every uploaded document, and respond to any query the branch raises.

Once the branch sanctions and disburses, the district office registers the case for interest subsidy. Complete the training module when it is offered.

How to apply offline or with help

Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana has no paper application route. The file must be created on SAMAST. What is available offline is assistance:

1. Visit the District Antyavasayi Cooperative Development Committee office at your collectorate and ask the Executive Officer for scheme counselling and a document checklist.
2. Use an MPOnline kiosk or a Common Service Centre to create the SAMAST profile and upload documents if you do not have a computer or scanner. A small notified service charge applies.
3. Take a printout of the submitted application to your chosen bank branch so the branch manager can open the file locally.

How to check your application status

1. Log in to samast.mponline.gov.in with the mobile number used at registration.
2. Open the application tracking or dashboard section and enter your application number.
3. Read the current stage: department scrutiny, forwarded to bank, bank sanctioned, disbursed, or returned.
4. If the file shows "returned" or "objection", open the remarks, fix the defect and resubmit rather than filing a fresh application.

For interest subsidy credits after disbursement, the loan statement from your bank branch is the authoritative record. Ask the branch for a statement showing the subsidy entries if you cannot see them.

Why applications get rejected, and how to fix it

• Caste certificate not permanent. A temporary or provisional certificate is the commonest defect. Obtain the permanent certificate from the tehsil.
• Domicile certificate missing or in an old name. Names must match Aadhaar.
• Weak project report. Banks reject proposals with no market rationale, no machinery quotation and no realistic working-capital estimate. Get the report prepared with help from the district industries centre.
• Existing default. A CIBIL-visible default on any earlier loan, including a small consumer loan, blocks sanction. Clear the account first.
• Already benefited elsewhere. If a family member has drawn another self-employment subsidy for the same activity, the file is returned.
• Income above Rs 12 lakh. The declared family income is checked against Samagra and income certificate records.

Bank sanction is a commercial decision. The department can sponsor you, but no department order compels a branch to lend against a proposal it finds unviable.

Help and grievance redressal

• Scheme support number: 0755-2551265, Scheduled Caste Welfare Department.
• District office: the Executive Officer, District Antyavasayi Cooperative Development Committee, at your collectorate handles file-level grievances.
• Portal grievance: the SAMAST portal carries a query and grievance option for technical and application problems.
• CM Helpline 181 is the state's general grievance line if a file sits unmoved at the district or bank stage for an unreasonable time.

Applying under Sant Ravidas Swarojgar Yojana is free. No agent can guarantee sanction, and no official will ask for a payment to move your file.