Single Window Scheme (PIPDIC)

What is the PIPDIC Single Window Scheme?

The Single Window Scheme is a special scheme of the Pondicherry Industrial Promotion Development and Investment Corporation Limited (PIPDIC) under the Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Puducherry. According to the PIPDIC schemes page, the scheme provides a term loan for fixed assets and a loan for working capital through the same agency, and the total working capital requirement of the unit inclusive of all fund based facilities may be taken into account when determining the working capital facility eligible for finance.

PIPDIC, the Pondicherry Industrial Promotion Development and Investment Corporation Limited; was set up by the Government of Puducherry in 1974 with an authorised share capital of Rs 45 crore. PIPDIC works under the Department of Industries and Commerce and does two things: it develops industrial estates, growth centres and IT parks in the Union Territory, and it lends to entrepreneurs through a published set of loan schemes.

The name describes the point of the scheme. A small unit setting up in Puducherry normally has to arrange a term loan from a development lender for its machinery and building, and then separately convince a commercial bank to give it a cash credit limit for raw material and receivables. The two lenders appraise the same project twice, ask for overlapping security, and often disagree on timing, which leaves a new unit with a completed factory and no money to run it. The Single Window Scheme puts both facilities in one sanction from PIPDIC.

Headline terms

• Term loan for fixed assets and a working capital loan from a single agency.
• Total project outlay, including total working capital requirement, must not exceed Rs 2,00,00,000.
• Working capital is assessed on the total requirement inclusive of all fund based facilities.

Who is eligible for the Single Window Scheme?

PIPDIC lists four categories of applicant.

You can apply if you are:

• An entrepreneur setting up a new project in the SSI or tiny sector in the Union Territory of Puducherry.
• A new promoter acquiring the unencumbered fixed assets of an existing SSI concern. This is the route for someone taking over a closed or idle unit whose assets carry no existing charge.
• An existing well-run unit undertaking modernisation or technology upgradation.
• A potentially viable sick unit undertaking a rehabilitation scheme.

In every case the total project outlay, including the total working capital requirement, must not exceed Rs 2,00,00,000.

You cannot apply if:

• The total outlay exceeds Rs 2,00,00,000. A larger project has to go to PIPDIC's general scheme for the SSI and MSI sector, which carries a much higher ceiling but no bundled working capital facility.
• The project is outside the SSI and tiny sector definition.
• You are a sick unit that is not potentially viable. Viability is assessed, and a unit judged unviable is not financed under a rehabilitation scheme here.
• The fixed assets being acquired from an existing concern are encumbered, that is, they already carry a charge in favour of another lender.
• You are an individual seeking a personal loan. The Single Window Scheme is industrial credit; individuals cannot apply for a personal benefit under it.
• You are a defaulter to PIPDIC, a bank or any other financial institution.

How is the working capital limit fixed?

PIPDIC's own wording is important here: the total working capital requirement of such units inclusive of all fund based facilities may be taken into account for determining the working capital facility eligible for finance. In plain terms, PIPDIC assesses what the unit needs in total to run, then looks at what fund based facilities it already enjoys from other lenders, and sizes its own facility against that overall picture rather than lending on top of an unexamined existing limit.

A borrower who already has a cash credit limit elsewhere should disclose it in the application. The declaration on the PIPDIC form specifically covers the absence of unauthorised borrowing arrangements, and non-disclosure is a ground for the sanction to fall through.

What are the interest rate and financial norms?

PIPDIC publishes a single rate card that applies across its lending schemes:

Units promoted by women, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or differently abled entrepreneurs get a concession of 0.5% below the normal rate.

The investigation fee is 0.50% of the term loan applied for, plus service tax, where the loan is up to Rs 25,00,000, and 0.75% plus service tax above that. Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs pay half the investigation fee.

The debt-equity ratio expected is 3:1 for a loan up to Rs 25,00,000 and 2:1 above that.

Collateral security is required in the form of immovable property, over and above the mortgage or hypothecation of the assets being financed. Property inside the Union Territory of Puducherry must be worth at least the sanctioned loan amount. Property outside Puducherry must be worth at least 150% of the loan if it is land with a building, and at least 200% if it is bare land. For units promoted by women, SC, ST or differently abled persons the requirement is reduced to 50% of the loan amount. Valuation is done by chartered engineers and valuers on PIPDIC's approved panel, not by a valuer of the borrower's choosing.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Single Window Scheme online

PIPDIC accepts applications only through its own portal at pipdic.in. There is no paper counter for fresh loan applications, and no agent is authorised to file on your behalf.

1. Open pipdic.in and click Login, then choose the New customer link. Enter a username, an email ID, a password and the captcha, and click Register.
2. Log in with the registered email ID. PIPDIC sends a one-time password to that email address; enter the OTP and click Login to reach the customer dashboard.
3. Open Edit Profile from the top right corner of the dashboard, complete every required field about yourself and the enterprise, and click Submit. An incomplete profile blocks the application form.
4. Click the Applications tab. A pop-up shows the checklist of general terms and conditions, the interest rate structure, the investigation fee and the collateral security norms. Read it, gather the listed papers, and click I Agree.
5. Choose the correct application form. PIPDIC publishes four forms; Up to 25 Lakhs, Above 25 Lakhs, Transport, and the Merit Loan Letter — and fill the multi-step form, completing every mandatory field.
6. Read the declaration, which covers the truth of the information, the absence of any unauthorised borrowing arrangement and consent to verification. Tick I agree to terms and click Submit.
7. Enter the bio-data of the promoter, partner or director on the screen that follows, and upload each KYC and supporting document using the Choose File button beside the field.
8. Pay the application fee; Rs 100 for a loan up to Rs 25,00,000 and Rs 200 for a loan above Rs 25,00,000. Online payment redirects you to a summary page before the debit.
9. Save or print the fee receipt generated after payment. Keep it, because it carries the reference PIPDIC uses when you call about the file.

How to check the status of a PIPDIC application

1. Log in to pipdic.in with the registered email ID and the OTP sent to it.
2. Click View My application on the dashboard.
3. Select the relevant loan application from the drop-down menu.

A freshly filed application shows as UNDER REVIEW. The status moves on as PIPDIC completes the technical appraisal, the site inspection and the valuation of the property offered as collateral. If the status has not changed for several weeks, call the corporation on 0413-2334361 quoting the application number on your fee receipt rather than filing a second application, since a duplicate file attracts a second application fee.

Why PIPDIC applications get rejected or delayed

• Profile not completed on the portal, so the application form never opens.

• Collateral property falls short of the prescribed value once PIPDIC's panel valuer files the report. A borrower who relies on a private valuation from outside the panel is the most common casualty here.

• Title defects, property that is jointly held without every co-owner joining the mortgage, or property with an unreleased earlier charge.

• Default with another lender. PIPDIC checks credit records, and an outstanding default against the promoter or a group concern stops the file.

• Missing or unreadable uploads of KYC and financial documents.

• Application fee unpaid. The file is not taken into appraisal until the Rs 100 or Rs 200 fee is received and the receipt generated.

• Activity outside Puducherry. PIPDIC finances units located in the Union Territory of Puducherry, covering the Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam regions.

• Working capital understated in the project report so as to squeeze the outlay under Rs 2,00,00,000. PIPDIC assesses the real requirement, and an understated figure surfaces at appraisal.

• Existing fund based facilities not disclosed, which breaches the declaration on the application form.

• Assets being taken over are encumbered, defeating the eligibility condition for a new promoter acquiring an existing SSI concern.

Key dates

The Single Window Scheme is open all year with no notified window and no last date. The critical sequencing for a new unit is between the term loan disbursement and the working capital release: machinery has to be installed and the unit ready to run before working capital is useful, and PIPDIC releases the two components against the milestones set at sanction rather than in a single tranche.

Whom to contact for help or a grievance

• Managing Director, PIPDIC, No. 60, Romain Rolland Street, Puducherry 605001 to phone 0413-2334361, email info@pipdic.com.
• General Manager (Administration), mobile 9894653835.
• Online grievance form at pipdic.in/grievance_form, which is the route that creates a written record.
• PIPDIC also holds virtual open house hearings for public grievances, notified on the portal.
• Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Puducherry, is the administrative department above PIPDIC if a grievance is not settled by the corporation.

Filing an application on pipdic.in costs only the notified application fee. No official or intermediary is authorised to collect anything else for processing a file, and PIPDIC never asks for the OTP sent to your registered email.