Development of Industries — Training Scheme (Puducherry)

What is the Development of Industries: Training Scheme in Puducherry?

The Development of Industries; Training Scheme is the umbrella skill-training programme of the District Industries Centre (DIC), which works under the Directorate of Industries and Commerce, Government of Puducherry. According to the DIC's own Training page, the stated objective is "to create employment opportunities and to motivate entrepreneurship among the educated unemployed youth" of the Union Territory.

The scheme is not one single course. It is a family of components, each with its own duration, qualification bar and stipend rate, funded from the Union Territory's own budget rather than from a centrally sponsored scheme. A candidate applies to one component, not to the scheme as a whole.

The components currently listed by the District Industries Centre are:

• In-Plant Training, one year, at a working industrial or service establishment, stipend Rs 4,500 to Rs 9,000 per month.
• Advanced / High Skill Training: duration set by the training institution, usually in a neighbouring state, stipend Rs 7,500 or Rs 9,000 per month plus travel and accommodation.
• Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP); about a week, no stipend slab, the entire training cost met by the government.
• Vocational Training, six months, institution-based, aimed mainly at women from rural areas.
• Management Training, for existing entrepreneurs, with 90 per cent of the course fee subsidised.

Parallel training programmes with the same age band and residence rule run under the sister schemes Development of Handicrafts, Development of Coir and Development of Silk, all administered by the same District Industries Centre.

Who is eligible for the Puducherry Development of Industries training?

You can join if:

• You are aged 18 to 35 years. This band applies across every training component listed by the District Industries Centre.
• You are a native of the Union Territory of Puducherry, or you have been a continuous resident of the Union Territory for at least the past three years. The rule covers all four regions, Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam.
• You meet the educational qualification notified for the trade. In-Plant Training needs a minimum of SSLC pass, or more where the trade demands it. Vocational Training needs SSLC pass. Handicrafts and Coir training need no formal qualification, only literacy.
• You are unemployed and looking either for wage employment or to start your own venture.

You are not eligible if:

• You are below 18 or above 35 years of age on the reckoning date.
• You are neither a native of Puducherry nor a three-year continuous resident of the Union Territory.
• You have already undergone a similar training under the Central or State Government or any of their agencies. The DIC scheme document states this exclusion explicitly for both In-Plant and Vocational Training, and it is the clause that most often removes an otherwise strong candidate.
• You do not hold the minimum qualification notified for the trade you have applied to.

There is no income ceiling and no caste restriction published for the training components, which distinguishes this scheme from the pension and insurance components of the Development of Handicrafts scheme.

How much stipend does the scheme pay?

Two rules decide which figure actually reaches you. First, the District Industries Centre pays according to the minimum qualification fixed for the trade, so a graduate who joins a trade notified at SSLC level draws the SSLC rate. Second, the DIC page records one narrow exception: a trainee holding a postgraduate qualification in a trade whose minimum requirement is a undergraduate degree is paid Rs 3,000 per month.

Handicrafts and Coir training trainees are paid a flat Rs 4,500 per month for six months. Vocational Training carries a lower stipend of Rs 1,500 per month under the DIC scheme document.

The host industry or institution is separately compensated. Under In-Plant Training the DIC website records Rs 300 per trainee per month paid to the industrial unit for wastage of raw materials, while the DIC scheme document cites a ceiling of up to Rs 900 per trainee per month. Confirm the current rate with the District Industries Centre before relying on either figure.

How to apply for the Puducherry training scheme

1. Watch for the advertisement. For In-Plant Training the notice appears in local dailies during December; for Handicrafts and Coir training it appears during July.
2. Download the application form from the relevant page of dic.py.gov.in; Training, Development of Handicrafts or Development of Coir each carry their own "Application Form for Training" link. You can also collect the form at the District Industries Centre counter.
3. Attach the documents, nativity or residence proof, educational certificates, date of birth proof, photographs, bank passbook copy and Aadhaar.
4. Submit the completed form in the notified month: January for In-Plant Training, August for Handicrafts and Coir — at the District Industries Centre, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605009. Karaikal applicants submit at the Rural Industrial Estate, Kottucherry; Yanam and Mahe applicants at the Civil Station office in their region.
5. Attend the selection. The DIC matches candidates against the notified trades and the number of seats sanctioned with each host unit or institution.
6. Report on the commencement date; July for In-Plant Training, December for Handicrafts and Coir training, and give your bank details for the stipend.

How do I check the status of my training application?

Status is tracked offline, because there is no online tracking module for this scheme. Quote the date on which you submitted your form and ask at the counter, or call the District Industries Centre on +91-413-2248391 or +91-413-2248987. Karaikal applicants should call +91-4368-266467, Yanam applicants +91-884-2321257 and Mahe applicants +91-490-233235.

Selection results are also placed on the Notice Board and News sections of dic.py.gov.in during the selection season, so it is worth checking the site between the closing of applications and the commencement month.

Why do applications get rejected?

• Applying outside the notified month. The application window is a single calendar month for each component. A form submitted in March for In-Plant Training is not held over.
• Residence proof that does not cover three continuous years. A ration card or Aadhaar showing a recent Puducherry address is not enough on its own if you are not a native of the Union Territory.
• Age crossing 35 on the reckoning date.
• Earlier government-funded training of a similar kind, which is a stated disqualification.
• Qualification mismatch with the trade applied for.
• Incomplete enclosures, especially the bank passbook copy, which holds up the stipend even after selection.

If you fall short on qualification, the Handicrafts, Coir and Entrepreneurship Development components are the realistic alternatives, since none of them prescribes a formal educational qualification.

What are the key dates each year?

• December, advertisement in local dailies for In-Plant Training.
• January, application window for In-Plant Training.
• July, In-Plant Training commences; advertisement for Handicrafts and Coir training appears.
• August; application window for Handicrafts and Coir training.
• December; Handicrafts and Coir training commences.

Advanced / High Skill Training and the Entrepreneurship Development Programme do not follow a fixed calendar. Their duration and start dates are set by the training institution concerned, and the DIC sponsors candidates as the courses become available.

Where do I raise a grievance?

• District Industries Centre, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605009 to +91-413-2248987, 2248391, 2249392
• Directorate of Industries and Commerce, same address, +91-413-2248476, 2248168, 2248320
• Email: dic.pon@nic.in
• Secretary to Government (Industries and Commerce), Chief Secretariat, Puducherry 605001 to +91-413-2336115

No agent or middleman can charge you for a training seat or a stipend. The application form is free to download from dic.py.gov.in, and the stipend is paid directly into the trainee's own bank account.