Mukhyamantri Matikala Rojgar Yojana

What is Mukhyamantri Matikala Rojgar Yojana?

Mukhyamantri Matikala Rojgar Yojana is a self-employment credit scheme of the Uttar Pradesh Matikala Board, an autonomous body constituted under the Khadi and Village Industries Department by notification number 475/59/1-2018 dated 19 July 2018. The scheme helps a potter or clay artisan set up a pottery unit of their own by arranging a bank loan on a project costing up to Rs 10 lakh and adding a government grant on top.

According to the Matikala Board portal, the financing structure is fixed:

• 5 per cent of the total project cost is the entrepreneur's own contribution.
• 95 per cent is bank loan, repayable over five years as per rules.
• 25 per cent of the capital loan amount is provided by the state government as margin money, credited into the borrower's loan account at the bank branch when the bank asks for it.

The margin money is the heart of the scheme. It lowers the amount the artisan effectively has to service, which is what makes a Rs 10 lakh pottery unit financeable for a household that could not otherwise raise the capital.

The Board was set up because demand for clay goods had fallen while plastic substitutes spread, leaving traditional artisans without a viable living and adding to environmental damage. Mukhyamantri Matikala Rojgar Yojana, sometimes written in Hindi as Mukhyamantri Matikala Rojgar Yojana, is the Board's principal tool for turning that traditional skill back into a commercially viable business rather than a subsistence craft.

Scheme delivery runs through the existing Khadi and Village Industries Board machinery: the Divisional Village Industries Officer at the division level and the District Village Industries Officer at the district level.

What activities are covered?

The Matikala Board lists four broad product lines that a unit can be built around:

• Toy making from clay.
• Household products: pressure cookers, pitchers, surahis, jugs, kulhads, glasses, pickle jars, bowls, cups, plates and serving dishes.
• Building materials: floor tiles, roof tiles, latrine pans, pipes and wash basins.
• Decorative items: flower vases, garden pots, bonsai pots and lamps.

A project report built around any of these lines is acceptable. The building materials line typically needs the larger project sizes, which is where the class 8 education condition for loans above Rs 5 lakh starts to bite.

Who is eligible for Mukhyamantri Matikala Rojgar Yojana?

You can apply if:

• You are a native resident of Uttar Pradesh, evidenced by a domicile certificate.
• You have completed 18 years of age.
• You are literate. For projects costing more than Rs 5 lakh, you must additionally have passed at least class 8.
• You have either received Matikala training before taking the loan, or you have traditional knowledge of pottery work.
• You intend to set up an individual unit.

Reservation for candidates of reserved categories is applied in line with the state government's arrangements, based on the availability of applicants, which is why a caste certificate is a compulsory upload on the form.

You cannot apply, or you are not eligible, if:

• You are not a resident of Uttar Pradesh.
• You are under 18 on the date of application.
• You are illiterate, since literacy is an express condition.
• You are seeking more than Rs 5 lakh but have not passed class 8.
• You have neither pottery training nor traditional pottery knowledge.
• You are applying as a partnership firm, self-help group, society or company. Only individual units are set up under this scheme. Groups seeking shared infrastructure should look at the Board's Micro Matikala Common Facility Centre scheme instead.

How are beneficiaries selected?

Selection is not first-come, first-served. Applications are scored on the portal through a score card, and a district-level committee then makes the selection. The committee is composed as follows:

Once the committee has selected the beneficiaries, the District Village Industries Officer forwards the loan applications, along with the committee's recommendation, to the concerned bank or branch. The bank then does its own appraisal before sanctioning. Selection by the committee is therefore a necessary step but not by itself a guarantee that the loan is disbursed.

What documents are required?

The project report deserves the most preparation time. It is the document the bank appraises, and it should carry the proposed activity, the machinery to be bought, raw material sourcing, working capital needs, and a realistic turnover projection. A one-page note is usually sent back.

How to apply for Mukhyamantri Matikala Rojgar Yojana

1. Open the Matikala Board portal at upmatikalaboard.in in a browser.
2. From the Yojanayein menu, select Mukhyamantri Matikala Rojgar Yojana, then choose the option to apply.
3. Fill in the personal details, communication address, and the proposed unit address, which may be the same as the communication address.
4. Select the type of activity, then enter the total project cost, the bank finance sought and the financing bank branch details.
5. Complete the score card section, which is what the selection committee uses to rank applications.
6. Upload the Aadhaar card, domicile certificate, caste certificate, project report, photograph and signature in the accepted formats, then submit.
7. Open View Your Application to check every entry. Use Update Application to correct anything wrong, because entries cannot be changed after the next step.
8. Tick the declaration checkbox and choose Final Submit.
9. Log in later through Registered Applicant Login using the scheme name, user name and password, changing the password on first login, to track the application status.

Is there an offline route?

Mukhyamantri Matikala Rojgar Yojana invites applications online only, on the Matikala portal. There is no parallel paper form. Applicants without a computer or internet connection have two workable options:

1. Use a Jan Seva Kendra or Common Service Centre to fill and submit the online form and upload the scanned documents.
2. Approach the District Village Industries Officer, who is the convenor member of the selection committee and the district-level implementing officer for the Board's schemes.

How to check application status

1. Go to upmatikalaboard.in and open Registered Applicant Login.
2. Enter the scheme name, user name and password created at the time of application.
3. Change the password if this is the first login, then log in again with the updated password.
4. The dashboard shows the current status of the application.

After the district committee's recommendation reaches the bank, further progress depends on the branch. Applicants whose status shows the file as forwarded should follow up directly with the financing bank branch named on the application, not with the portal.

Common reasons applications fail

• Weak or missing project report. The most frequent cause of a bank declining a recommended file.
• Project above Rs 5 lakh without class 8. The education condition applies strictly above that threshold.
• No proof of pottery training or traditional knowledge. Applicants with no Matikala background should first take training under the Matikala Kaushal Vikas Yojana and apply afterwards.
• Domicile certificate not uploaded or expired. Residence in Uttar Pradesh is a threshold condition.
• Wrong bank branch named. Margin money is released into the loan account at the branch named on the application, so an incorrect branch stalls disbursal.
• Application not finally submitted. A form saved but never put through Final Submit does not reach the selection committee at all.

What training comes with the loan?

Beneficiaries selected under Mukhyamantri Matikala Rojgar Yojana are given a seven-day residential practical training under the Board's Matikala Kaushal Vikas Yojana, at the divisional village industries training centres run under the Khadi and Village Industries Board. The training covers the practical side of running a unit rather than the craft itself: the registrations and licences a unit needs, financial management, time management, taxation, quality control, packaging, marketing and branding.

Applicants who need the craft skill rather than the business skill can separately take the 15-day Matikala craft training, which covers making daily-use items, decorative items, toys and idols, and cutting, inlay, painting and carving work on clay products.

Key facts to remember

• Project cost ceiling: Rs 10 lakh
• Own contribution: 5 per cent of project cost
• Bank loan: 95 per cent of project cost, for five years as per rules
• Margin money grant: 25 per cent of the capital loan amount
• Minimum age: 18 years
• Education: literate, and class 8 pass for projects above Rs 5 lakh
• Unit type: individual units only

Help and grievance redressal

• Matikala Board Samadhan Cell toll-free: 1800-120-7699
• Matikala Board landlines: 0522-2208321 and 0522-2208243
• Office address: Uttar Pradesh Matikala Board, Khadi Bhawan Parisar, 8 Tilak Marg, Lucknow 226001
• District level: office of the District Village Industries Officer
• Division level: office of the Divisional Village Industries Officer

Applying under the scheme is free. No fee is charged by the Matikala Board for registration or for the selection process, and no agent can charge for getting an application recommended to a bank.