The main objectives of SFCs are to finance and promote small and medium enterprises in the states concerned, to
achieve balanced regional growth, catalyse investment, generate employment and widen the ownership base of industry. There are 18 SFCs
in the country (including the Tamil Nadu Industrial Investment Corporation Ltd.,).
The financial assistance includes term
loans, direct subscription to equity / debentures, guarantees, discounting of bills of exchange and seed / special capital. The SFCs
operate a number of schemes on behalf of IDBI / SIDBI in addition to special schemes for women among others. With the increasing
diversification in the Indian industry, SFCs have started providing assistance to units engaged in floriculture, tissue culture,
poultry farming, commercial complexes and services.
State Industrial Development Corporations
The State Industrial
Development Corporations [SIDCs] are wholly owned undertakings by the State Governments and act as catalyst for promotion and
development of medium and large industries in their respective states. Apart from financial assistance, they also undertake
preparation of feasibility reports, conducting industrial surveys, entrepreneurship training and development programmes, and
developing industrial areas / estates. Some SIDCs also offer a package of developmental services that includes technical guidance,
assistance in plant location and co-ordination with other agencies. They are also involved in setting up of medium and large
industrial projects in the joint sector with the collaboration of private entrepreneurs or, in some cases, wholly owned subsidiaries.
At present, many SIDCs are making efforts to diversify their activities and enter into other areas of financing, like, equipment
leasing, merchant banking, venture capital and mutual funds.
Of the 28 SIDCs in the country, eleven function as SFCs- they are
known as Twin Function Industrial Development Corporations [TFIDCs]. TFIDCs are in Andaman and Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Daman, Diu
and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Goa, Pondicherry and Sikkim.
