CM ST Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CMSTEI) Scheme was launched by the Tribal Welfare Department in 2018 vide G.O.Ms.No.51, TW (LTR) Dept., dt:01.09.2017 for promoting industrialization and entrepreneurship among Schedule Tribes. The scheme includes capacity building training & handholding support for market and financial exposure through Telangana Incubation Center for Tribal Entrepreneurs (TITCE) set up in partnership with Indian School of Business (ISB) and financial assistance from TRICOR.  Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE), ISB has conducted three batches of the programme in the FY 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21.

The major objectives of the scheme are:

• To promote entrepreneurship culture among Scheduled Tribes, as a viable means of community-based economic growth.
• To nurture Tribal Entrepreneurs to expand their business and become employment providers through enterprise development.

As an educational and knowledge partner, CIE provides screening and selection of the participants, design and delivery of the academic training, facilitation of market exposures and financial exposure component of the programme for the selected set of 100 prospective entrepreneurs (2 cohorts of 50 participants each). The capacity building training spans across 3-months which will be of hybrid model which includes 15 days of academic residency (subject to prevailing pandemic situation) and 45 days of offline period for market research, field visits and Detailed Project Report (DPR) handholding session for DPR preparation. Mode of delivery of the stated activities during offline period are subject to prevailing pandemic situation. The participants shall be mandated to undertake COVID-19 Liability Waiver Declaration form provided by ISB before the commencement of the programme. ISB exposes the participants to market-based business opportunities, general management learnings, resource management, sound business practices and Detailed Project Report (DPR) preparation to be submitted to the funding partners – Financial Institution and TRICOR.

The programme goals are as following:

1. To promote entrepreneurship (through franchising and self-entrepreneurship) as a viable career option and to nurture the culture of entrepreneurship in the region amongst the scheduled tribe.
2. To help first generation entrepreneurs gain general business management knowledge and experience the process of entrepreneurship by imparting relevant academic and hands-on experiential knowledge.

1.       Candidate shall be a graduate of any stream.

2.       The prospective entrepreneur who is having innovative ideas.

3.      Highly qualified technocrats.

4.      Entrepreneur should have thorough knowledge & experience in the proposed activity.

5.      Start-up entrepreneurs.

6.      All communities among Scheduled Tribes shall be given equal priority.

7.      The candidate shall have credit history with the Bank.

8.      The candidate should have the capacity to invest 10% of the unit cost as Beneficiary Contribution as per scheme norms.

9.      Candidate having 2 years of working experience.

10.   Candidate can be from Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PvTGs).

11.     Candidates whose family members have already availed benefit under this scheme are not eligible.

For further eligibility details, refer to the Government notification on the CMSTEI scheme released for the FY.

• Entrepreneurial education and business management theory and practise imparted by eminent ISB faculties.
• Exposure to various business opportunities and on-ground experiential knowledge in varied sectors and domains by industry experts and site visits.
• Exposure to detailed understanding of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) by ISB faculty and the banking partners.
• Handholding support to prepare high-quality Detailed Project Report (DPR).

• Subsidy - 35% on the unit cost subject to maximum of Rs.50,00,000/- Lakhs.
• Additional 5% subsidy for the enterprises set up in scheduled area, i.e., 40%, on the unit cost, subject to maximum of Rs.50,00,000/- Lakhs.
• Additional 10% subsidy for Scheduled Tribe women entrepreneurs j.e., 45% on the unit cost, subject to maximum of Rs.50,00,000/- Lakhs.
• 10% of the unit cost shall be borne by the beneficiary as a Beneficiary Contribution.
• Remaining cost shall be the loan from the financial institutions.

• The participant submits the Detailed Project Report to ISB at the end of the capacity building training.
• ISB submits the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the participant to Tribal Welfare Department (TWD).
• Joint field inspections are conducted by Banks and Tribal Welfare Department Officers, in the presence of participant for assessment and evaluation of the project.
• If the DPR is approved by the bank partner, a sanction letter/in-principal approval letter is issued to the participant.
• After bank partner’s approval, the candidate presents to the State Level High Powered Committee.
• State Level High Powered Committee sanctions eligible DPRs based on the presentation, project viability and documentation.

Timeline for the sanction process is subject to the banking partners and Tribal Welfare Department.

For more details on the programme and ISB’s role, kindly read the below Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

1.     What is the CM ST Entrepreneurship & Innovation (CMSTEI) scheme?

The CM ST Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CMSTEI) Scheme was conceptualized by TRICOR, Tribal Welfare Department, Telangana in the FY 2018-2019 for promoting industrialization and entrepreneurship among Scheduled Tribes (ST). The programme includes capacity building, training, and handholding support for DPR preparation and market exposure for the students in partnership with Indian School of Business (ISB) and with financial assistance from TRICOR. Each aspect of the programme is elaborated on in questions 4, 5, 6, and 7. The programme is being conducted consequently since the last three financial years, i.e., FY 2018-2019, FY 2019-2020, and FY 2020-2021 and is continuing successfully with improvised model this year.

2.    What are ISB’s goals as part of the TITCE initiative for the CMSTEI scheme?

        i.            To promote entrepreneurship (through franchising and self-entrepreneurship) as a viable career option for the scheduled tribe in Telangana and nurture the culture of entrepreneurship among them.

       ii.            To help first-generation entrepreneurs gain general business management knowledge and experience the process of entrepreneurship by imparting relevant academic and hands-on experiential knowledge.

3.    What is ISB’s role as part of the TITCE initiative for the CMSTEI scheme?

As a knowledge partner for the CMSTEI scheme, ISB conducts the screening and the selection of the participants and provides academic training, market exposure and access to industry experts and franchisors, with support in preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the programme. The details of each component (student selection, academic training, market exposure and DPR) is elaborated on in questions 4, 5, 6, and 7.

4.   What is ISB’s role in the participants’ screening and selection process?

ISB conducts the screening and selection process of the participants of the program. This is done through an in-person / online Business Aptitude Test (BAT) to evaluate the participants’ general awareness, management, and logical reasoning skills. It is followed by an in-person / online Personal Interview (PI) to gauge the participants’ understanding of the scheme, entrepreneurship, and preparedness. After the process, the consolidated list of the shortlisted participants across BAT and PI is shared with the government for final perusal and background check. ISB also shares a list of waitlisted participants in case of dropouts from the shortlisted candidates. The final list of shortlisted candidates for the batch is shared by TRICOR after a thorough background and documentation check.

5.    What is the hybrid model of capacity building training?

The hybrid model of capacity building training spans across 3-months which includes 15 days of academic residency (subject to the prevailing pandemic situation) which might be on campus at ISB or on online platform subject to the current pandemic situation and 45 days of offline period for market research, field visits and Detailed Project Report (DPR) handholding session for DPR preparation. Mode of delivery of the stated activities during offline period are subject to prevailing pandemic situation. The participants shall be mandated to undertake COVID-19 Liability Waiver Declaration form provided by ISB before the commencement of the programme.

6.   What is ISB’s role in academic training?

ISB designs the programme curriculum to ensure selected participants get maximum experiential learning through the concepts taught. Participants are introduced to a vast array of topics in business management and entrepreneurship. To help them with their market reach capability enhancement, the participants are taken through every aspect of the Detailed Project Report (DPR) from the beginning of the academic training to ensure they get sufficient time to prepare and iterate the DPR. The curriculum includes sessions by guest speakers, bankers, and government representatives to give the participants a holistic perspective from all stakeholders and resolve queries during the DPR preparation stage.

7.    What is ISB’s role in providing market exposure?

ISB facilitates guest sessions and industry meetups to impart experiential knowledge to the participants on business opportunities across various sectors/domains and potential franchisee opportunities to choose from. A three-forked approach encompassing guest speaker sessions by the industry experts, in-person/virtual industrial site visits, and meet-up sessions with potential franchisors are adopted. ISB facilitates and interfaces in-person/virtual market meetings with the franchisors without any financial liability. Participants and franchisors take the interaction forward, independently if found mutually suitable.

8.   What is ISB’s role in providing support in DPR preparation?

ISB facilitates DPR preparation and submission to the financial and government partners, i.e., banking partner and TRICOR, TWD. This involves interfacing and facilitating regular meetings between the banking and government partners with the students, help in preparing high quality DPRs with minimum iterations, introduction to the concepts of primary and secondary research for the various business opportunities and conducting ideation sessions. ISB reviews and suggests changes in the DPRs till upto two (2) times.

However, the DPR’s acceptance by the banking partner is at its sole discretion, based on merit. The participants are responsible for negotiating with and convincing the financial partners, i.e., banking partner and TRICOR, TWD, to approve their DPR. Additionally, the participants must adhere to the financial partners’ timelines to disburse finances related to their DPR.

9.   What is ISB’s role in mentoring and networking?

The programme provides the participants with ample networking opportunities with the ISB faculty, potential business mentors, and industry experts. Additionally, ISB’s Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) team offers continuous and timely mentoring to participants to choose business opportunities with lucrative market potential. Ideation sessions throughout the residencies and the programme’s offline periods enable participants to nurture the shortlisted business ideas.

10. What is the timeline for the capacity-building training and handholding support for the market exposure and DPR preparation?

The following table highlights ISB’s deliverables, along with the duration of each:

11.  What is the schedule of the academic training programme?

Typically, the academic training programme is spread across two (2) cohorts, each with fifty (50) participants. Each cohort undergoes fifteen (15) to seventeen (17) days of in-person/online training in three (3) residencies interspersed with a total of around forty-five (45) days of the offline period between residencies.

A schematic representation depicting the academic training calendar outline, detailing the residency and offline periods, is given below: 

The specific schedule is shared with the participants of respective batches at the commencement of the programme. This schedule is arrived at in consultation with TRICOR.