Grant-in-Aid to Industrial Association, CII and Industrial NGOs for Promotion of SME Clusters under Marketing and Publicity

What is this grant-in-aid for SME clusters?

Grant-in-Aid to Industrial Association, CII and Industrial NGOs for Promotion of SME Clusters is a scheme under Marketing and Publicity, launched by the Department of Industries and Commerce, Union Territory of Puducherry, and handled by the District Industries Centre.

Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided to industrial associations, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and industrial NGOs for the promotion of SME clusters. The assistance is 75 per cent of the actual cost, subject to a maximum of Rs 3,00,000 per unit in the cluster.

The scheme rests on a specific idea about how small industry improves. A single micro enterprise cannot afford a common testing facility, a shared design service, a joint brand or a common raw material purchase arrangement. A group of similar enterprises can, if some body organises them, and in practice that body is an industry association or an industrial NGO rather than any one member. Puducherry therefore funds the organiser, at three-quarters of what the work actually costs, with the ceiling scaled to the size of the cluster.

How the money works

Two features matter when you plan a proposal.

The ceiling is per unit in the cluster, not per cluster. The number of member units that actually participate therefore drives the admissible amount, which is why the list of member units is a document the department will want in detail rather than in summary.

The rate is 75 per cent of actual cost. The assistance is a share of what is spent, so the association must be able to fund the remaining 25 per cent and must be able to evidence the full expenditure. A proposal built on estimates alone will not settle.

Who is eligible for the grant-in-aid?

You can apply if:

• You are an industrial association, the Confederation of Indian Industry, or an industrial NGO. This is the eligibility condition the department states.
• Your proposal is for the promotion of an SME cluster in the Union Territory of Puducherry.
• Your organisation is registered and can produce audited accounts and, where applicable, utilisation certificates for earlier grants.
• You can meet the 25 per cent balance of the actual cost from your own or members' resources.

You are not eligible, and cannot apply, if:

• You are an individual entrepreneur or a single enterprise. The grant goes to the association or NGO promoting the cluster; a member unit that wants direct support should look at the Industries and Commerce Department's fiscal incentives instead, such as capital investment subsidy, interest subsidy or quality certification subsidy.
• You are an NGO with no industrial focus. The scheme names industrial associations, CII and industrial NGOs.
• The proposal is for an individual unit's own marketing or expansion dressed up as cluster promotion.
• You cannot fund the 25 per cent share, since the department meets only 75 per cent of actual cost.
• Your organisation has outstanding utilisation certificates for grants already received. Grant-in-aid is normally withheld until earlier grants are accounted for.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the grant-in-aid

1. Build the cluster proposal first. Identify the member units, the common problem the intervention addresses; marketing, common facilities, design, testing or joint procurement, and the actual cost with a line-item estimate. The per-unit ceiling means the member list is part of the financial case, not an annexure.
2. Take a print of the prescribed application form from the District Industries Centre's application forms area at dic.py.gov.in/application-forms-download-area, or collect a hard copy at the Centre.
3. Fill in all the mandatory fields and attach self-attested copies of the organisation's registration, the member unit list, the proposal and cost estimate, audited accounts, utilisation certificates for any earlier grants, and the organisation's bank details.
4. Visit the District Industries Centre at Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605009 on a working day during office hours and submit the duly filled and signed application with the documents to the concerned authority. Associations based in Karaikal can approach the Functional Manager at the Rural Industrial Estate, Kottucherry, Karaikal 609609.
5. Collect your unique number. On receipt of the application, the Centre makes entries in the application receipt register and assigns a unique number, used for all further references and as the acknowledgement of receipt.
6. Keep the expenditure record as the work proceeds, because the 75 per cent is computed on actual cost and settled against bills and payment proofs.

How do I check the status of the application?

1. Quote the unique number assigned at submission.
2. Contact the District Industries Centre on +91-413-2248987, 2248391 or 2249392, or the Karaikal office on +91-4368-266467.
3. Watch dic.py.gov.in for notices, and the Government of Puducherry site py.gov.in for expenditure sanction orders.

Common reasons proposals are turned down

• Applicant is an individual unit, not an association, CII or industrial NGO.
• Member unit list vague or unverified, which makes the per-unit ceiling impossible to apply.
• No own contribution identified for the 25 per cent balance.
• Activity is not cluster promotion, a proposal that benefits one member disproportionately.
• Earlier grants unaccounted for, with utilisation certificates pending.
• Costs claimed without bills, since the assistance is a share of actual cost.

Related support the same cluster can draw on

The District Industries Centre's other Marketing and Publicity schemes work well alongside this one. The Centre organises and funds participation in exhibitions, trade fairs, expos, seminars and investors meets in Indian cities and abroad, paying participating artisans and unit industrialists second-class railway fare and a daily allowance of Rs 400 per day per person. It also runs a rent subsidy for sales emporia at 90 per cent of rent up to Rs 10,000 a month for three years, with 75 per cent of infrastructure and interior decoration costs up to Rs 1,50,000. Individual member units can separately claim the Industries and Commerce Department's fiscal incentives, including quality certification subsidy at 50 per cent up to Rs 2 lakh and technology acquisition assistance at 50 per cent up to Rs 10 lakh.

Help and contact

• District Industries Centre, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605009 — +91-413-2248987, 2248391, 2249392
• Karaikal: Functional Manager, Rural Industrial Estate, Kottucherry, +91-4368-266467
• Citizen's Charter, dic.py.gov.in/sites/default/files/citizencharter.pdf
• Grievance redressal: industry.py.gov.in/grievance-redressal-mechanism