IPS Assistance for Quality Certification — Up to ₹10L for MSMEs

The Assistance for Quality Certification is a sub-scheme nested inside the larger Investment Promotion Scheme (IPS) for the MSME Sector. It is administered by the Department of Industries, UT Administration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The parent IPS first came into being in July 2015, and the edition that governs this assistance is operative from May 20, 2022 until May 19, 2027.

The broader IPS has three concerns: steadying MSME units against market swings, pulling more women into business, and reducing unemployment among local residents by encouraging industries to hire resident labour. This sub-scheme attacks one specific lever — quality. It reimburses a portion of what a unit spends to earn national or international quality certifications, so that better-tested products can hold their own in crowded markets.

The result the department is chasing is a chain of gains: stronger quality standards, sharper competitiveness, healthier demand for the unit's goods, and manufacturing operations that survive over the long run. Because the support is a subsidy, it is handed over as a reimbursement rather than as an investment in the business.

• Up to ₹10 lakh subsidy for MSME quality certification
• Reimburses 50% of certification fees and 50% of testing equipment cost
• For new manufacturing/service units and existing units expanding or diversifying
• Unit must be located in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
• Certificate must come from an NABCB-registered certifying body
• Rolling window: apply within one year of the certificate being issued

Eligibility turns on three things — where your unit sits, when it began producing, and where its certificate comes from.

• Your unit must be an MSME, either a new manufacturing or service unit, or an existing manufacturing/service unit that is going in for expansion or diversification.
• Commercial production must have begun between May 20, 2022 and May 19, 2027.
• The unit has to be physically located inside the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu.
• The quality certificate must come from a certifying body registered with the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB).
• The application must reach the department within one year of the certificate's date of issue.

All of these conditions apply together. Location and the production commencement date are the two points the District Industries Centre examines most closely during processing.

IPS Assistance for Quality Certification — Up to ₹10L for MSMEs is open to startups at any stage. It is open to startups registered anywhere in India.

IPS Assistance for Quality Certification — Up to ₹10L for MSMEs accepts applications on a rolling basis — there is no fixed cut-off date, so eligible startups can apply at any time. Because rolling programmes can pause without notice, confirm the window is still open on the official site before you start.

Support under this sub-scheme is paid back to you against money already spent. It has two parts, and both can be claimed on the same application:

• 50% of the fee you pay for a national or international quality certification.
• 50% of the cost of the testing equipment and machinery needed to obtain that certification.

Taken together, the assistance cannot cross ₹10,00,000 (₹10 lakh).

The money arrives as a reimbursement once the District Industries Centre has verified your documents and confirmed that you meet the criteria — it is not released upfront. Since this is a subsidy, the department does not take any equity or ownership stake in your unit.

IPS Assistance for Quality Certification — Up to ₹10L for MSMEs is offered by Department of Industries, UT Administration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, a government body. As a government-backed subsidy, it is publicly funded and open to eligible startups across India.

Every application travels through the online Single Window Portal and is then processed by the District Industries Centre, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

• Submission on the portal — the unit registers on the Single Window Portal, signs in, and files the Common Application Form along with the mandatory documents.
• Eligibility scrutiny — the District Industries Centre verifies the unit's location, the date on which commercial production commenced, and whether the certifying body is validly recognised.
• Timeline check — the application must have been submitted within one year of the quality certificate being issued.
• Disbursal — once every document and every criterion clears verification, the assistance is released as a reimbursement.

Before you apply to IPS Assistance for Quality Certification — Up to ₹10L for MSMEs, keep the following documents ready:

• A pitch deck or short business plan describing the problem, product and traction
• Company registration documents and PAN
• Founder identification (PAN / Aadhaar) and brief profiles
• Recent financial statements or projections
• Product details — a demo, prototype or working link if available

Exact requirements are confirmed on the official application portal — treat this as a preparation checklist.

IPS Assistance for Quality Certification — Up to ₹10L for MSMEs is best suited for startups in India seeking non-dilutive funding of ₹10L. If that describes your startup, review the eligibility criteria above before applying.