Gramam Thorum Puthozhil
A flagship initiative announced by the Hon’ble Minister for MSME, Government of Tamil Nadu, to create 100 startups in 100 selected villages across Tamil Nadu. The scheme champions inclusive entrepreneurship, rural innovation, and sustainable local economic growth.
Key Objective
Villages
Startups
Objectives
• To democratize entrepreneurship by giving equitable access to rural startups and grassroots innovators.
• To promote sustainable and inclusive economic development in rural Tamil Nadu.
• To build rural startups that generate local employment, enhance productivity and solve village-level problems.
• To activate Gram Panchayats as focal points for innovation-led growth.
• To strengthen startup readiness for TANSEED, IVP and other Government schemes.
How It Works ?
• Implemented by TANSIM with District Administrations, Regional Hubs, Incubators, Institutions and Industry Associations.
• 10 Regional Hubs, each covering 10 selected villages identified based on backwardness, potential and diversity in consultation with District Administrations and local governance bodies.
• Awareness and sensitisation drives in all 100 villages with emphasis on women, SC/ST communities, differently-abled individuals and youth.
• Startups shortlisted based on innovative potential, social relevance and feasibility.
• Selection of startups will follow the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the TANSEED scheme.
• Eligibility for the ₹1 lakh equity-free seed grant is subject to TANSEED criteria and recommendation by the designated Evaluation Committee.
• Selected startups must participate in capacity-building, orientation and incubation programmes.
• Selected startups receive incubation support including business model refinement, market validation, legal help, branding and pitch readiness.
• CSR partners provide mentorship, infrastructure, resources, networks, market access and funding support; CSR contributions (cash/in-kind) shall be used only for outreach, mentorship and value-added services.
• Monitoring and evaluation will be done through a centralised dashboard maintained by TANSIM.
• Periodic reviews at regional and State levels will track performance, milestones and bottlenecks.
• Funds will be utilised strictly as per the BE 2025–26 allocation and CSR guidelines.