PSUs fail to meet 4 per cent procurement target from SC-ST enterprises

By Shweta Kumari 

Despite being given a target of four per cent procurement of raw materials from SC-ST entreprenuers, the public sector undertakings (PSUs), till date, have managed to procure only 0.3 per cent. Milind Kamble, chairman of the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (DICCI) said the short fall was mainly due to lack of awareness among the entrepreneurs and stringent norms governing the procurement by the PSUs. “Implementation of the policy of the targeted procurement is the need of the hour,” Kamble said while addressing a press conference in Pune on Friday.

“In 2016, the DICCI had met the Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Nirpendra Mishra to discuss the matter. Following the meeting, Rs 490 crore was allocated under the Union budget for the empowerment of the micro, medium and small Enterprises (MSME). However, awareness about it still remains low,” he added. “The DICCI will conduct a state-level SC-ST entrepreneurs’ conclave in Pune on January 3 to raise awareness about the schemes,” he added.

The conclave has received a total of 410 applications from entrepreneurs in the city. He also discussed the need for reforms and setting up of monitoring systems at the grassroot level to reduce the gap in the procurement targets and bring the SC-ST entrepreneurs on a platform where they could thrive. “Stand up India through its scheme targets to help achieve the aim by providing loans to SC-ST and women entrepreneurs,” he said.

Meanwhile, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed between the National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC) and the banks, also enables them to apply to the banks for loans. He added, “Market biases of national banks, on the basis of surname, banking history and address need to be eliminated…”