Use Dalit Bandhu to be job creators, KTR urges SCs 

HYDERABAD: Stating that the Dalit Bandhu scheme was introduced only to uplift the economic status of SCs in the State, IT & Industries Minister KT Rama Rao on Wednesday made it clear that the intention behind it was not to gain any political mileage.

Inaugurating the Business Facilitation Centre and Model Career Centre of the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), Rama Rao urged SCs to take advantage of the Dalit Bandu scheme and become job creators by setting up units rather than becoming job seekers.

He said that under Telangana State Programme for Rapid Incubation of Dalit Entrepreneurs (T-PRIDE), government has provided incentives to the tune of Rs 1,005 crore for SCs for 25,000 units and another Rs 1,113 crore to 25,000 STs. “However, most of the units happen to be vehicles. I request those to set up a manufacturing or service unit which would generate employment for 10 to 20 people rather than being self employed,” the Minister said.

He recalled that in Jammikunta of Huzurabad constituency, 30 entrepreneurs joined hands to set up a fabrication unit and soda making unit through Dalit Bandhu at a cost of Rs 3 crore.“This way, this scheme of the State government is boosting entrepreneurship in Telangana,” Rama Rao said.

On the occasion, the Minister asked SCs to make use of schemes like Dalit Bandhu, T-Pride and 15 per cent reservations in industrial plots and become a part of Telangana’s growth story. “From the government side, we are offering whatever we can, but it is your responsibility how to make use of it,” he said.

The Industries Minister asked the DICCI management to identify and prepare a list of SCs studying in prestigious institutions like IITs and IIMs and encourage them to become entrepreneurs. “There might be many roadblocks when we try to achieve something, but we should never give up. If Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao had taken a step back during the Telangana movement, then we might not have achieved a separate State,” Rama Rao said.