Scheme for SSI / MSI Sector (PIPDIC)

What is the PIPDIC Scheme for SSI / MSI Sector?

Scheme for SSI / MSI Sector is the general-purpose term loan scheme of the Pondicherry Industrial Promotion Development and Investment Corporation Limited (PIPDIC), a Government of Puducherry undertaking working under the Department of Industries and Commerce. It is the largest of PIPDIC's lending products by ceiling and the one most Puducherry manufacturers use.

PIPDIC was set up by the Government of Puducherry in 1974 with what its own information handbook calls a twin objective: promoting the industrial development of Puducherry, and providing financial assistance to entrepreneurs. It is a limited company with an authorised share capital of Rs 45 crore, of which the Government of Puducherry has contributed Rs 31.64 crore. Alongside lending, PIPDIC develops and runs IT and electronic parks, growth centres and industrial estates, and offers equity participation, underwriting of capital issues, and hire purchase and lease financing.

Under this scheme, according to PIPDIC's published schemes of assistance:

• Eligible borrowers: all forms of organisation in the small scale and medium scale sector; proprietary concerns, partnerships, co-operative societies, and private and public limited companies.
• Purpose: for setting up new small scale units and medium scale units, for expansion, modernisation and diversification of existing units, and for all activities eligible for assistance under the scheme.
• Loan limit: not to exceed Rs 1,000 lakh, that is Rs 10 crore.

That Rs 10 crore ceiling makes this scheme the natural route for a substantial manufacturing project in Puducherry, while PIPDIC's smaller schemes. The composite loan scheme for cottage and village industries at up to Rs 10 lakh, or the SC/ST entrepreneurs scheme at up to Rs 2 lakh; serve the micro end.

Who is eligible for the PIPDIC SSI/MSI term loan?

You can apply if:

• You are any form of organisation in the small scale or medium scale sector — a proprietary concern, a partnership firm, a co-operative society, a private limited company or a public limited company. PIPDIC's eligibility text is deliberately broad on the form of organisation.
• Your project is an industrial project in the union territory, set up in Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe or Yanam, where PIPDIC operates its industrial estates and regional offices.
• You are setting up a new SSI or MSI unit, or you are expanding, modernising or diversifying an existing unit.
• You can bring the promoter's contribution and offer acceptable security. PIPDIC is a term lending institution, and a project financed entirely by borrowing is not a proposition it entertains.
• Your project is technically and commercially viable on the strength of a detailed project report.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You want a personal loan, a consumption loan or an education loan. PIPDIC finances industry. Individuals seeking personal benefits have no route here. The one consumer-facing product PIPDIC runs, the scheme for purchase of a four wheeler for own use, is restricted to qualified professionals and to the corporation's existing good borrowers.
• You are a trader with no manufacturing or eligible service activity. The scheme is for the SSI and MSI sector.
• Your unit is outside the Union Territory of Puducherry.
• You are an existing defaulter to PIPDIC, another institution or a bank. Default is a bar across PIPDIC's schemes; several of them state it expressly.
• You want working capital alone. Working capital together with a term loan is available under PIPDIC's Single Window Scheme, where total project outlay including total working capital requirement must not exceed Rs 200 lakh.
• Your requirement is for a second-hand vehicle. PIPDIC's small road transport operators scheme states plainly that second hand vehicles are not eligible for assistance.

How much can be borrowed, and on what terms?

The published limit under this scheme is a loan not to exceed Rs 1,000 lakh (Rs 10 crore). Within that ceiling, the sanction for a particular project is decided on the project cost, the debt-equity ratio, the promoter's contribution and the security offered.

It helps to see where this scheme sits among PIPDIC's other limits, because a project that does not fit here often fits elsewhere:

An important planning point: a borrower who runs this loan well becomes eligible over time for PIPDIC's Good Borrowers schemes, which carry an interest concession of 1 per cent for 'A' category units. Repayment discipline on this loan has direct value later.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the PIPDIC SSI/MSI loan

1. Prepare the detailed project report first. PIPDIC assesses a project, not an applicant. The report should set out the product, installed capacity, machinery list with quotations, raw material sourcing, market, cost of project, means of finance including your own contribution, and projected profitability and repayment capacity.
2. Register as a customer on pipdic.in. The portal has a New Customer registration and a Customer Login, and applications are filed from that account.
3. Choose the correct application form. PIPDIC's site carries separate loan applications for loans up to Rs 25 lakh and for loans above Rs 25 lakh, plus a distinct transport application. Filing on the wrong form delays the file.
4. Complete the application and upload the documents; project report, constitution documents, Udyam certificate, land or shed proof, machinery quotations, security title documents, promoter KYC and, for an existing unit, three years of audited financials.
5. Submit and note the reference generated. Applicants who prefer to file physically can submit at the PIPDIC registered office, 60 Romain Rolland Street, Puducherry 605 001.
6. Attend the appraisal. PIPDIC's technical and financial appraisal examines viability, the promoter's contribution, the debt-equity ratio and the security. Expect a site visit and queries on the project report.
7. Accept the sanction and complete documentation. On sanction, execute the loan documents and create the security. PIPDIC's schemes release funds after documentation and after the corporation's other norms are met.
8. Draw the loan against progress and start repayment as scheduled, keeping in mind that a clean repayment record qualifies a unit for the Good Borrowers schemes later.

PIPDIC also runs regional and branch offices for applicants outside Puducherry city, including Karaikal on 04368-292317, Thattanchavady on 0413-2271206, an office on 0413-2678105, Mahe on 0490-2332560 and 2332720, and Yanam on 08863-2321243.

How do I check my application status?

1. Log in to your customer account on pipdic.in. Since applications are filed through a registered customer login, the account is the first place to look.
2. Call the PIPDIC registered office on 0413-2335116, or email info@pipdic.com quoting your application reference.
3. Use the enquiry and grievance forms on pipdic.in, which the corporation maintains as separate links for pre-sanction enquiries and for complaints.
4. Follow up at the branch where the project is located, for site inspection and documentation stages.

Why applications get rejected, and how to fix them

• A weak or absent project report. More PIPDIC applications stall here than anywhere else. A report without machinery quotations, a market assessment and realistic projections cannot be appraised.
• Insufficient promoter's contribution. PIPDIC's schemes are built around a stated debt-equity ratio and promoter share. Arrange your own contribution before applying.
• Inadequate or encumbered security. Obtain the encumbrance certificate early and resolve any charge on the property. PIPDIC's Good Borrowers scheme text is explicit that fixed assets should be free from encumbrance, and the same concern applies at appraisal here.
• Existing default. Clear defaults to any institution or bank first. Default disqualifies across PIPDIC's product range.
• Wrong application form. Use the up-to-Rs-25-lakh form or the above-Rs-25-lakh form according to the amount sought.
• Activity outside the SSI/MSI sector. Trading and non-industrial activity does not fit this scheme. Check whether one of PIPDIC's specific schemes: tourism, hotels and restaurants, medical profession, professionals, marketing organisations; covers your line instead.
• Statutory clearances not obtained. For lines needing pollution control consent, start that process in parallel rather than after sanction.

What are the key dates?

PIPDIC accepts loan applications on a rolling basis; no last date is published for this scheme. The corporation's own financial year and the Government of Puducherry's financial year both run from 1 April to 31 March, which matters for interest rate revisions and for schemes with an annual subsidy element rather than for the acceptance of applications.

The dates that actually govern a borrower's file are project dates: the date of sanction, the date of documentation, the drawal schedule tied to project implementation, and the moratorium and repayment schedule fixed in the sanction letter.

How do I raise a grievance?

1. Use the grievance form on pipdic.in, which the corporation maintains separately from its general enquiry form.
2. Write to or visit the PIPDIC registered office, 60 Romain Rolland Street, Puducherry 605 001, on 0413-2335116, fax 0413-2336842, or email info@pipdic.com.
3. Escalate to the Director of Industries and Commerce, Directorate of Industries and Commerce, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605 009, on +91-413-2248476, +91-413-2248168 or +91-413-2248320.
4. The departmental head is the Secretary to Government (Industries and Commerce), Chief Secretariat, Puducherry 605 001, on +91-413-2336115.

PIPDIC charges its published processing and service charges only. No agent or intermediary is authorised to collect money on the promise of arranging a sanction.