SRS

The Sarothi Start-Up fund is an initiative that the Indian government of Assam has launched (2016-17) to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in the state. Startups and entrepreneurs receive seed capital, working capital, and other forms of financial support through the scheme.

Detailed

The entrepreneurs of the State, more particularly the 1st generation entrepreneurs are facing problems to convert their ideas into reality due to a lack of adequate resources in the form of equity, loan, etc. Getting loans or financial assistance from banks/Financial Institutions for any new venture is a major problem in the State as Banks/Financial Institutions are very reluctant to provide loans considering it a risk for them.

To remove this hurdle of equity /fund crunch, the State Government has proposed to launch a new scheme called Chief Minister's Start-up fund “Sarothi” with an initial amount of Rs.10 Cr during 2016-17. The fund shall be managed by the Industries & Commerce Department as per its operational guidelines.

The scheme shall be operational from the financial year 2016-17 and shall be valid for a period of five years. The proposed guidelines of the scheme do not supplement the argument given above as it does not propose to give equity support, instant aimed at giving interest concession. The basic objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance in the form of a loan with Interest subvention through a designated Bank covering the whole of Assam. The loan so availed by the beneficiaries will be supported by the State Govt. through Interest Subvention @ 5% P.A.

The coverage of the scheme shall be:-

• All innovative start-up industrial activities and the new individual applicants shall be eligible to get the benefit under the scheme.
• New MSME units.
• Priority shall be given to the applicant having any kind of skill development training.
• The applicant should not be a defaulter of any Bank/ Financial Institution

The objective of the scheme:

The basic objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance in the form of loan with Interest subvention through a designated Bank covering the whole of Assam. The loan so availed by the beneficiaries will be supported by the State Govt. through Interest Subvention @5% P.A.

Designated Bank

The financial assistance has been proposed to be provided in the form of Interest Subvention on loan (Term Loan +Cash Credit) @ 5% P.A. initially through Assam Gramin Vikas Bank (AGVB) to applicant industries. Later on, Government may bring in more bank/s under the purview of the scheme.

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Eligibility

• All innovative startup industrial activities and the new individual applicant will be eligible to get the benefit under the Sarothi scheme.
• New Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) units in Assam are eligible for these benefits.
• Priority will be given to an applicant if he or she undergoes any skill development training.
• If the applicant is a defaulter of any Bank or Financial Institution, he or she will not be eligible for benefits under the Sarothi scheme.

Financial Assistance

• The government provides financial assistance for startups in the form of loans with interest subvention
• The loan amount will be a maximum of Rs. 10.00 lakh.

Exclusions

• If the applicant has any pending legal cases, defaults on previous loans, or has a poor credit score, it may affect their eligibility for the scheme.
• If the applicant's proposed project is not feasible, sustainable, or does not align with the objectives of the scheme, their application may not be accepted.