Maharashtra HSC Small Industries & Self-Employment key terms

A manufacturing or service unit whose plant and machinery investment stays within the ceiling fixed by the government, qualifying it for concessional finance, reservations and other support benefits.

The statutory classification of enterprises based on combined investment in plant and machinery and annual turnover, replacing the earlier purely investment-based small scale definition.

A very small manufacturing unit, historically one with plant and machinery investment up to a low prescribed limit, often enjoying a separate higher ceiling for credit and subsidy schemes.

The free online government registration that gives an enterprise an identity number and makes it eligible for MSME schemes, subsidies, priority lending and delayed-payment protection.

The maximum amount of money an enterprise may put into plant and machinery and still remain in a given size category, revised periodically by government notification.

A unit supplying at least a fixed minimum share of its production to one or more parent large units, historically entitled to the same concessions as small scale industries.

The deliberate policy of linking small units as regular component and service suppliers to large manufacturers, reducing import dependence and building a local vendor base.

A support approach that strengthens groups of similar small firms located close together by sharing common facilities, testing labs, training and joint marketing infrastructure.

A planned area developed with roads, power, water and sheds where small units are allotted plots at concessional rates to start production quickly.

The district-level government office that guides prospective entrepreneurs through registration, scheme applications, licences and coordination with banks and other agencies.

An administrative arrangement where one agency receives an entrepreneur's applications and obtains the required approvals from several departments within a fixed time limit.

A business owned and controlled by one person who contributes the capital, takes all profit and bears unlimited personal liability for the firm's debts.

An association of two or more persons who agree to share profits of a business carried on by all or any of them acting for all, governed by a written deed.

The written agreement recording partners' capital contributions, profit-sharing ratio, duties, admission and retirement rules, and the method of settling disputes.

A business owned by a joint family, managed by its karta, with membership by birth and capital drawn from joint family property.

A voluntary association of persons registered under co-operative law that runs a business on the principle of one member one vote and distributes surplus as dividend on member usage.

A co-operative formed by small producers who pool raw material purchase, processing and marketing so members gain bargaining power and lower costs.

A private company structure allowing a single individual to own and run a limited liability company with a nominee who takes over on the owner's death or incapacity.

An incorporated business with a separate legal identity, limited shareholder liability and restricted share transfer, registered under the Companies Act.

The charter document of a company that states its name, registered office, objects, liability of members and capital, and defines the scope of its activities.

The internal rulebook of a company covering management, meetings, share transfers and borrowing powers, subordinate to the memorandum and the Companies Act.

The position where an owner's personal assets can be used to pay business debts because the business has no separate legal identity from its owners.

A written document describing a proposed venture's product, process, market, costs, means of finance and expected returns, used for loan appraisal and planning.

A structured investigation testing whether a proposed project is technically possible, commercially viable, financially sound and legally permissible before money is committed.

The collection and analysis of information about buyers, competitors, prices and demand in a target area to judge whether a product will sell.

Estimating the quantity of a product likely to be bought in a defined area and period, using past sales, consumer surveys or economic indicators.

Dividing a broad market into smaller groups of buyers with similar needs, income or location so that product and promotion can be aimed precisely.

The combination of product, price, place and promotion decisions a small firm controls to reach its chosen customers and compete effectively.

Creating a name, symbol or design that identifies a small firm's product and distinguishes it from competitors, building recognition and customer loyalty.

Designing the container and label for a product to protect it in transit, convey information and attract buyers, an important tool for small units selling outside local markets.

The sales volume at which total revenue equals total cost, so the firm makes neither profit nor loss, calculated from fixed cost and contribution per unit.

An expense such as rent, insurance or salaried staff that stays roughly the same regardless of how much the unit produces in the short run.

An expense such as raw material, power for machines or piece-rate wages that rises or falls directly with the quantity produced.

The money locked in raw materials, work-in-progress, finished stock and receivables, plus cash needed to run daily operations until sales are collected.

Long-term funds invested in land, building, plant and machinery and other assets that are used repeatedly over several years of production.

A loan repaid over several years in instalments, used to buy land, building or machinery, usually sanctioned after appraisal of a project report.

A bank facility allowing a firm to draw money up to a sanctioned limit against stock and receivables, paying interest only on the amount actually used.

A small group of poor persons, usually women, who save regularly together, lend among themselves and later obtain bank credit on the group's repayment record.

Small loans, savings and insurance services provided to low-income households and tiny enterprises that lack collateral for ordinary bank borrowing.

A government grant that covers part of a project's capital cost or a loan's interest, reducing the entrepreneur's own contribution and repayment burden.

The promoter's own share of a project's cost, which the entrepreneur must contribute before a bank or subsidy scheme finances the remainder.

The process of spotting an opportunity, assembling resources, taking calculated risk and creating a new venture that produces goods or services for profit.

A learnable personal ability such as initiative, persistence, information seeking or calculated risk taking that helps a person start and manage a venture successfully.

A gap between what customers need and what is currently supplied, which an entrepreneur can fill profitably with a feasible product or service.

The earlier district-level registration a small unit obtained to be recognised as an SSI and claim concessions; now largely replaced by online Udyam registration.

The law requiring buyers to pay a registered micro or small supplier within the prescribed period, with compound interest payable on any delay.

The indirect tax on supply of goods and services, under which small firms register, charge tax on sales, claim input credit and file periodic returns.

A simplified GST option for small taxpayers who pay a flat low rate on turnover and file fewer returns, but cannot claim input tax credit.

The periodic statement a registered business files online showing outward supplies, inward supplies, tax charged and tax paid for a tax period.

The systematic daily recording of business transactions in books such as cash book, sales book and ledger so that financial position can be checked.

A record of all receipts and payments of cash and bank, kept date-wise with a running balance so the owner can monitor liquidity.

A statement on a given date listing assets, liabilities and owner's capital, showing what the business owns and owes and its net worth.

The systematic reduction in the book value of a fixed asset because of use, wear, time or obsolescence, charged as an expense each year.