Advance / High Skill Training in Coir Component of the Development of Coir Scheme (Puducherry)

What is Advance / High Skill Training in Coir?

Advance / High Skill Training in Coir is the second-stage skilling component of the Development of Coir scheme run by the District Industries Centre, Directorate of Industries and Commerce, Government of Puducherry. The District Industries Centre states its object as developing "the existing skill of the Coir artisans or the interested persons to acquire the latest skill & modern technologies by undergoing such Advance/High skilled training available in various places of India".

Two words in that sentence set the boundaries of the component. "Existing skill" tells you the component assumes a base. It is not the way into the coir trade. "Various places of India" tells you the training happens outside the Union Territory, at whichever institution runs the advanced course, which is why the scheme funds travel and accommodation as well as the stipend.

The parent scheme, Development of Coir, exists "to develop coir and coir based industry, to train rural poor in producing coir products and to generate employment thereby". Its components run from entry-level training through to capital support for setting up a coir unit.

Who is eligible for Advance / High Skill Training in Coir?

You can be sponsored if:

• You are a native of the Union Territory of Puducherry, or you have been a continuous resident of the Union Territory for the past three years.
• You are aged 18 to 35 years.
• You meet the educational qualification prescribed by the training unit or institution. The District Industries Centre does not impose its own qualification standard for this component.
• You are an existing coir artisan, or an interested person seeking to acquire advanced coir skills.

You are not eligible if:

• You are outside the 18 to 35 age band.
• You are neither a native of Puducherry nor a three-year continuous resident.
• You do not meet the admission requirement of the institution running the advanced course.
• You are a complete beginner with no coir background and no institutional admission. Basic Training in Coir is the correct route; six months, any literate person aged 18 to 35, stipend Rs 4,500 per month.

Coir clusters, societies and agencies cannot apply under this component for a personal benefit. Institutional support for them sits under separate components of the same scheme, described below.

What does the scheme pay?

Note the structure. Only the stipend and the travelling allowance reach the trainee's hands. The accommodation charge and the full course fee are settled with the training unit or institution, so a trainee is not expected to find the fee up front and claim it back.

The travelling allowance is deliberately limited: one journey there and back, capped at second-class train fare. A trainee who travels by air or by a higher class bears the difference.

By comparison, the same District Industries Centre pays Rs 4,500 per month on the basic six-month Training in Coir. The advanced component pays two-thirds more, which reflects that participants are giving up working time in an existing craft.

How to apply for Advance / High Skill Training in Coir

1. Identify the advanced coir course and the institution running it. Because the component funds external courses, the candidate normally brings a specific course to the District Industries Centre rather than waiting for one to be advertised.
2. Download the Application Form for Training from the Development of Coir page of dic.py.gov.in, where it is listed under the Advance / High Skill Training in Coir section. The form can also be collected at the counter.
3. Attach the enclosures, nativity or residence certificate, date of birth proof, the educational certificates the institution requires, the course prospectus showing fee and duration, Aadhaar and bank passbook copy.
4. Submit the application at the District Industries Centre, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605009. Karaikal applicants submit at the Rural Industrial Estate, Kottucherry 609609; Yanam and Mahe applicants at the Civil Station offices in their regions.
5. Wait for the sponsorship order, under which the District Industries Centre sanctions the course fee and accommodation to the institution and the stipend to you.
6. Join the course, keep the travel tickets, and submit the completion certificate to the District Industries Centre afterwards.

When can I apply?

There is no annual application window for this component. Unlike basic Training in Coir, whose applications are called in August with training starting in December, the advanced component has no fixed calendar because the period of training is set by the training institution.

The practical consequence is that you should approach the District Industries Centre as soon as the course you want is identified, and well before the institution's admission closes, since the fee sanction has to be issued before the course begins.

How do I check the status of my sponsorship?

Track it offline. Call the District Industries Centre on +91-413-2248987, +91-413-2248391 or +91-413-2249392, quoting the date of your application and the name of the course. Regional numbers are +91-4368-266467 for Karaikal, +91-884-2321257 for Yanam and +91-490-233235 for Mahe. The Directorate of Industries and Commerce can be reached on +91-413-2248476, 2248168 and 2248320.

Follow up on the fee sanction and the stipend sanction separately, because they travel to different recipients.

Why do applications for coir advanced training fail?

• No prospectus or fee structure attached, so the sanction cannot be quantified against what the institution prescribes.
• Applying after the institution's admission has closed.
• Residence proof short of three continuous years for a non-native applicant.
• Age above 35 on the reckoning date.
• No existing coir skill and no institutional admission, which means basic Training in Coir is the right component instead.
• Claiming travel above second-class train fare, or claiming more than one to-and-fro journey.

What else does the Development of Coir scheme offer?

The advanced training component sits inside a broader package of coir support run by the same District Industries Centre:

• Training in Coir, six months in coir rope, coir mat making and other coir products. Stipend Rs 4,500 per month to the trainee; honorarium Rs 900 per trainee per month to the trainer, capped at Rs 9,000 a month; raw material wastage compensation Rs 600 per trainee per month, capped at Rs 6,000 a month.
• Exposure Tour for Coir Artisans: conveyance, accommodation and institution fees met, plus a daily allowance of Rs 150 per person per day.
• Grant to Coir Cluster / Societies / Agency: Rs 2 lakh per year for five years for administrative and developmental expenses, to registered co-operative societies or societies whose members are coir artisans.
• Grant of Margin Money for Capital Loan — 25 per cent margin money restricted to Rs 25 lakh, that is for a project of Rs 1 crore, released to the bank on the entrepreneur's behalf. The unit must start commercial production within six months of release and the promoter must undertake to run it for five years.
• Subsidy for Raw Materials Procurement: 15 per cent of annual procurement, subject to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh per annum per unit.
• Entrepreneurship Development Programme in Coir, training for prospective entrepreneurs, plus awareness programmes for existing coir industries on modern technology, schemes and incentives.

Where do I raise a grievance?

• District Industries Centre, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605009 to +91-413-2248987, 2248391, 2249392
• District Industries Centre, Karaikal, Kottucherry 609609 to +91-4368-266467
• Directorate of Industries and Commerce: +91-413-2248476, 2248168, 2248320
• Email; dic.pon@nic.in

The application form is free to download from dic.py.gov.in, the course fee is paid by the government directly to the institution, and the stipend goes into the trainee's own bank account. No agent is involved at any stage.