i) The scheme shall be applicable to a11 eligible entrepreneurs, individually or in groups (subject to a minimum of five members and all of them belonging to the same area), who want to generate income by setting up viable tiny scale units or to run, revive or improve any existing unit. The project cost for an individual applicant will be subject to a maximum limit of Rs.10 (Ten) Lakhs and for groups of 5 (Five) or more the maximum project cost will be limited to Rs. 25 (Twenty Five) Lakhs.

ii) More than 1 (one) member from the same family members shall not be eligible for constituting a group and shall not be eligible for subsidy under the scheme for group of entrepreneurs (Atma Samman).

iii) Employees of Central/State Govt./Govt: Undertakings and their families will not be eligible to come under the purview of the scheme.

Definitions

i) 'State Government' means the Govt. of West Bengal.

ii) 'Tiny Scale Unit' for this Scheme means a unit having Project cost upto Rs. 25 lakhs.

iii) The project cost means costs of the following items :

a) Fixed capital assets i.e. costs of plant and machinery and/or cost of land.

b) Cost of civil works required for the project.

c) Hiring charge of any building required for the project.

d) Initial working capital required at the stage of commencement of proposed scheme, whether manufacturing, trade, service or any sector including agro-based industries, Floriculture, Horticulture and Animal Husbandry etc. and not working capital cost which may be required subsequently after the project is operationalised.

iv) 'Family' for the purpose of the scheme shall be deemed to consist of spouse, dependent parents and dependent minor children.

v) 'Prakalpa Sahayak' means a person or a group of persons or an organisation not being prospective entrepreneur under the scheme, and is engaged as such to motivate and assist the prospective entrepreneurs to avail of the Scheme, provide guidance for appropriate implementation of the project and play decisive role in motivating the beneficiaries to repay the loan.

vi) 'Unemployed youth' means any person who is not gainfully employed and is within the age of 18 to 45 years as on the date on which he or she makes an application for assistance under the scheme and registered with any employment exchange. The State Govt. in the Department of Self-Help Group & Self Employment, may relax the age limit for a maximum period of two years (i.e. upto 47 years of age) on consideration of merit as a special case under exceptional circumstances.

vii)'Bank Branch Concerned' or `WBFC Branch' means the branch or the branches of the Nationalised bank / Cooperative Bank / Gramin Bank or of West Bengal Financial Corporation or any other financial corporation under the State Govt., Central Govt. as the case may be, to whose areas of operation the sponsored application of the prospective entrepreneur or group of entrepreneurs pertain.

viii) 'Sponsored' means the loan application which are considered eligible by the PIC and submitted to the bank or WBFC as the case may be for sanction.

ix) 'Sanctioned' means the cases sanctioned by the bank or WBFC as the case may be for disbursement of loan amount.

x) 'Disbursed' means the cases disbursed by bank or WBFC or any other financial institutions as the case may be and shall consist of loan, subsidy and owner's share in right proportion.

Eligibility :

An individual entrepreneur or a group of entrepreneurs preferably of the State and whose family income (respective family income of individual member in case of a group) does not exceed Rs.15,000/- per month and, who intend(s) to generate income by setting up any viable unit of industry, trade, services etc. or reviving or improving an existing unit, will be eligible under this scheme.