The Vice President, Shri Venkaiah Naidu was the Chief Guest of National SC ST Hub (NSSH) Confluence organized by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and also released first ever radio jingle for National SC ST Hub.
A collective, coordinated action is needed to strengthen the eco-system for promoting SC & ST Entrepreneurs in the country.
Capacity building is important; credit availability is important, technology up-gradation is also important, he added.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Sector (MSME) is the bulwark of the Indian economy and one of the largest employers after agriculture. He further said that it is also one of the major contributors to the country’s GDP.
With Make in India envisaging to push contribution of the manufacturing sector to 25 per cent of the GDP by 2022, the MSME sector will be required to play a critical role in achieving the goal, he added.
Skill up gradation is one area that requires top attention for the overall development of SC/ST entrepreneurs.
National SC/ST Hub was lauded for signing MoUs with Sector Skill Councils to skill over 2,000 entrepreneurs, as these associations and incubators have a huge role to play in supporting the objectives of National SC/ST Hub.
Each association must extend support in building capacities and mentoring entrepreneurs in its respective sector.
National SC ST Confluence: Know More- The confluence brought various insights from Industry Association and Incubators to understand the gaps in realizing the mandate of Public Procurement Policy.
- It put forth innovative strategies for holistic development of MSEs owned by SC/ST Entrepreneurs.
The discussion held was extremely fruitful and intend to go a long way in meeting the objectives of the National SC ST Hub. - Interactive session was held with over 150 industry associations and incubators with representation of over 400 participants, focussing on collaboration with NSSH, to augment the capabilities of existing SC/ST entrepreneurs.
- Several excellent suggestions were made with respect to market access; capacity building, tender challenges, technology upgradation, etc. were made.
- The session also focused on future action plan along with role to be played by each stakeholder to achieve the objectives of the hub.
- In addition, MOUs were signed with 3 Sector Skill Councils to provide skill development trainings of SC-ST Entrepreneurs under capacity building initiatives of NSSH.
Background:- The Government of India formulated the Public Procurement Policy, 2012 which states that 20% of total procurement of goods and services by Central Ministries, Departments and CPSEs shall be made from MSEs and 20% of such procurement (4% of total) shall be from SC & ST owned MSEs.
- NSSH is a unique initiative launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on 18th October 2016. This initiative is aimed empowering SC ST owned MSEs in order to achieve the 4% mandate of the Public Procurement Policy.
- In view of the above, the NSSH initiative has the potential to work on ground and have an impact till the last mile. Due to the social and economic bearing the programme can have, it requires a strategy that delivers sustained and measurable impact, on the entire MSME ecosystem.
- Therefore, there have been continual efforts to include all relevant stakeholders including state, industry associations, incubators, CPSEs to identify synergies and work collaboratively and cohesively towards a shared goal.
Milestones in the HubSome of the milestones achieved by the hub are as follows -
1. Data analysis completed for 5 lakh SC/ST units to identify suppliers to CPSEs
2. Physical verification of over 4,900 SC/ST entrepreneurs completed that had potential to supply to CPSEs
3. Telephonic interaction with over 2,590 SC/ST MSMEs completed to understand challenges in securing PSUs’ tenders
4. Information of 1,003 SC/ST enterprises mapped with 42 CPSEs for vendor empanelment and procurement
5. Appointment of nodal officers in 67 CPSEs. Discussion with over 60 CPSEs conducted
6. Special Marketing Assistance Scheme - 950 units participated in domestic and international fairs/exhibition
7. 2,107 units facilitated with CPSE linkages under Special Vendor Development Programme
8. 512 SC/ST units benefitted under Special Performance & Credit Rating Scheme
9. Training programme conducted in IIM Noida (Satellite institute of IIM Lucknow), IIM Lucknow, IIM Raipur, IIM Kolkata and XLRI Jamshedpur (on pilot basis) for SC/ST entrepreneurs for over 100 SC/ST entrepreneurs.
