  The Higgs-Yukawa model in curved spacetime (renormalizable in the usual
sense) is considered near the critical point, employing the $1/N$--expansion
and renormalization group techniques. By making use of the equivalence of this
model with the standard NJL model, the effective potential in the linear
curvature approach is calculated and the dynamically generated fermionic mass
is found. A numerical study of chiral symmetry breaking by curvature effects is
presented.
