In News:

The Scheme of Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC) is supporting Scheduled Caste (SC) entrepreneurs in establishing technology-driven enterprises, generating employment, and promoting inclusive industrial growth.

What is the Scheme of Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes?

• Launched in 2014–15 by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, the Venture Capital Fund for Scheduled Castes (VCF-SC) aims to promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Caste entrepreneurs by providing concessional financial assistance for innovation-driven and growth-oriented enterprises.
• The scheme prioritiseswomen and differently-abled SC entrepreneurs and seeks to enhance financial inclusion, employment generation, and economic empowerment within the SC community.

Institutional Framework

The Fund is registered as an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) under the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012.

• Anchor Investor: Government of India
• Sponsor: IFCI Ltd.
• Initial Corpus: ?200 crore, with annual augmentation.

Key Features

• Provides financial assistance ranging from ?10 lakh to ?15 crore.
• Supports technology-driven manufacturing and growth-oriented enterprises.
• Focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation, and wealth creation among Scheduled Castes.
• Gives priority to women and differently-abled SC entrepreneurs.

Funding Pattern

• Projects up to ?5 crore: Financial assistance up to 75% of the project cost, while the remaining 25% is contributed by the promoter.
• Projects above ?5 crore: Assistance up to 50% of the project cost; at least 25% must be financed by banks or other financial institutions, and the remaining 25% by the promoter.

Objectives

The scheme seeks to:

• Promote entrepreneurship among Scheduled Castes.
• Provide concessional finance for innovation and growth-oriented enterprises.
• Improve financial inclusion of SC entrepreneurs.
• Facilitate wealth creation and economic empowerment.
• Generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for the SC community.

Significance

The scheme enables Scheduled Caste entrepreneurs to access institutional finance for technology-driven enterprises, encourages inclusive industrial development, and supports the broader objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat through entrepreneurship-led economic empowerment.