Development of Coir Industries

What is the Development of Coir Industries scheme?

Development of Coir Industries is a scheme of the District Industries Centre, under the Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Puducherry. The scheme was introduced to promote and develop the coir and coir-based industry in the Union Territory of Puducherry, training rural workers in the craft, helping existing coir units buy raw material, and supporting the societies and clusters through which small coir producers organise themselves.

According to the District Industries Centre, the objective is "to develop coir and coir based industry, to train rural poor in producing coir products and to generate employment thereby". That three-part objective; product, skill, employment, explains why the scheme has three quite different components rather than a single grant.

Coir work in Puducherry is largely a village-level activity carried out by small producers, often women, working with coconut husk fibre. The scheme is designed around that reality: it funds skills at the individual level and working capital at the unit level rather than large capital investment.

What assistance does the scheme give?

The scheme has three components:

1. Training with a stipend. The District Industries Centre imparts training in coir rope making, coir mat making and other coir products. A trainee is paid a stipend of Rs 1,500 per month.

2. Raw material subsidy for coir units. Departmental records describe a subsidy of 15 per cent on annual raw material procurement, subject to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh per annum per unit. This is the largest single benefit under the scheme and is aimed at units that already have production running.

3. Support to societies and clusters. A grant of Rs 2 lakh per year for five years is described as being available to meet the administrative expenses and developmental activities of coir societies, clusters and agencies.

The stipend and the subsidy are credited to bank accounts. There is no cash disbursement.

Who is eligible for the coir scheme in Puducherry?

For the training component, you can apply if:

• You are a native of the Union Territory of Puducherry, or have been a continuous resident for the past three years.
• You are aged between 18 and 35 years.
• You are willing to complete the full training in coir rope, coir mat or other coir product making.

For the unit assistance, you can apply if:

• You run a coir or coir-based unit located in the Union Territory of Puducherry.
• You can produce invoices for the raw material procured during the year against which the subsidy is claimed.
• Your unit is registered as required, Udyam registration, a partnership deed, or a society or cluster registration as applicable.

You cannot apply if:

• You are outside the 18 to 35 age band and are seeking the training stipend. The age criterion applies to the training component specifically.
• You are not a native of Puducherry and have not lived in the territory for three continuous years.
• You are an individual seeking a personal cash grant with no coir unit and no intention to train. The scheme is an industry development programme, not a household assistance scheme, and there is no personal benefit outside the training stipend.
• Your unit is located outside Puducherry, even if you personally live in the territory.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Development of Coir Industries scheme

1. Check the current call. The District Industries Centre notifies training batches and unit assistance as and when they are sanctioned. Look at dic.py.gov.in/development-of-coir and dic.py.gov.in/training-coir, and check the Department of Industries and Commerce's subsidy and incentives page at industry.py.gov.in/subsidy-incentives.
2. Decide which component applies to you, the training stipend if you are an individual aged 18 to 35, the raw material subsidy if you run a coir unit, or the society and cluster grant if you represent a registered body.
3. Collect the documents — residence proof, age proof, Aadhaar card and bank passbook for training; unit registration and raw material invoices for the subsidy.
4. Visit the District Industries Centre, Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Puducherry, and obtain the prescribed application form for the component you are applying under.
5. Submit the completed form with self-attested photocopies of all documents, and collect the acknowledgement.
6. Attend the verification the District Industries Centre arranges. For a unit claiming the raw material subsidy, this normally includes an inspection of the premises and the procurement records.

How do I check my application status?

1. Keep the acknowledgement slip with its reference number.
2. Contact the District Industries Centre, Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Puducherry, quoting the reference number.
3. Watch the notices on dic.py.gov.in for training batch lists and sanction orders.

Common reasons applications are rejected

• Age outside 18 to 35 for the training stipend.
• Residence not established. A person who has lived in Puducherry for less than three years and is not a native cannot be taken into training.
• No procurement invoices for a raw material subsidy claim. The subsidy is calculated as a percentage of documented procurement, so undocumented purchases cannot be counted.
• Unit not registered, or registered outside Puducherry.
• Applying for a personal cash benefit with no link to coir production or training, which the scheme does not provide.

Key dates

The scheme does not run on a fixed annual application window published on the department's website. Training batches are announced as they are sanctioned, and unit assistance is processed against the annual budget of the District Industries Centre. Check dic.py.gov.in periodically rather than waiting for a general advertisement.

Related central support for coir

A coir entrepreneur in Puducherry may also be eligible for central schemes run by the Coir Board of the Government of India, including the Coir Udyami Yojana credit-linked subsidy for setting up a coir unit and the Mahila Coir Yojana for women coir workers. These are separate from the Puducherry scheme and are applied for through the Coir Board, not the District Industries Centre.

Help and contact

• District Industries Centre, Government of Puducherry: dic.py.gov.in
• Scheme page: dic.py.gov.in/development-of-coir
• Training page; dic.py.gov.in/training-coir
• Department of Industries and Commerce; industry.py.gov.in/subsidy-incentives

A note on what is published

The District Industries Centre publishes the scheme's objective, the training component and the stipend figure on its website, and the departmental schemes manual carries the subsidy and grant figures cited above. The Centre does not publish a full step-by-step application procedure or a form for download for this scheme. This guide states the figures with their source and directs readers to the District Industries Centre for the form and the current call. Confirm the subsidy percentage and ceiling with the Centre before making a commercial decision on it.