National SC – ST Hub Conclave to Organised in Mumbai on 23rd January

The Government is organizing a National SC-ST Hub Conclave in Mumbai, on Monday, 23^rd January, 2023. The day-long national conclave is being organized by the Union Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, at World Trade Centre, Cuffe Parade, Mumbai, to promote the culture of entrepreneurship among members of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities and to spread awareness of the National SC-ST Hub (NSSH) and other schemes of the MSME Ministry. The event will be inaugurated by the Union MSME Minister Narayan Rane.

The conclave provides an interactive platform to both aspiring and existing SC-ST entrepreneurs to interact with diverse stakeholders comprising Central Public Sector Enterprises, Industry Associations, lending institutions and concerned central and State government departments. Through the exchange of ideas and deliberation on challenges and opportunities, the SC-ST MSMEs are also expected to be able to expand their horizons by incorporating new ideas by becoming better aware of the various interventions being taken by the Government.

Many current and future SC-ST entrepreneurs from Mumbai and surrounding regions are expected to participate in the event. The conclave aims to help them to better leverage the benefits offered under the SC ST Hub and other schemes and programmes of the Ministry of MSME.

Addressing a curtain raiser press conference in Mumbai today, General Manager, National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC), Manoj Kumar Singh said that the main goal of the conclave is to help achieve the sub-target of 4% annual procurement from MSEs owned by SC/ST entrepreneurs, as part of Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs). The GM informed that the share of public procurement from SC/ST entrepreneurs has risen from 0.04% to 0.7%.

Speaking about the importance of MSME sector, the General Manager informed that the MSME sector consists of more than 6 crore units and employes more than 11 crore people, thus being the sector next only to agriculture in providing the largest employment. The sector contributes significantly to economic growth with nearly 30% of contribution to GDP and more than 45% contribution to overall exports from India.  The Government is consistently working to empower MSMEs for sustainable growth and to facilitate them to compete better in the global value chain.

With the revised definition of MSME sector, the coverage of the sector has been expanded, the GM recalled. The Government has taken many initiatives to promote the MSME sector.

The GM informed that Secretary and other officers of the MSME Ministry, Development Commissioner; CMD, NSIC; Director of MSME; KVIC, Coir Board and various other stakeholders involved in the services to the sector will be present at the National Conclave.

The General Manager informed that various training programmes are provided to SC/ST entrepreneurs. Reimbursements up to 80% for loan processing charges, bank guarantee charges, registration with Export Promotion Councils and other forms of assistance are being given to these entrepreneurs. Participation in various domestic and international exhibitions is free for SC/ST entrepreneurs, informed the GM. The National Conclave will help build and improve awareness among SC/ST entrepreneurs and other stakeholders on these services and thus help members of the SC/ST community to become job providers rather than job seekers, said the GM.

Addressing the media, the Mumbai In charge and Branch Manager of NSIC, Mahendra Malviya informed that the goal of the conclave is to better reach out the benefits of central government schemes to members of the SC and ST communities, especially of Maharashtra. He informed that as of today, around 1.35 lakh SMEs are registered on the Udyam portal, out of which around 25 lakh are from Maharashtra alone. Out of this 25 lakh, the number of SC/ST entrepreneurs is very small. The National SC ST Hub has been launched to address this and promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST community, for which various steps have been taken. As an example, he said that registration on the GeM portal is free for SC/ST entrepreneurs who are registered with NSIC. Capacity building is another focus area, under which various courses are provided for both current and aspiring entrepreneurs.

National SC – ST Hub

National SC ST Hub is being implemented by the Union Ministry of MSME to provide professional support to SC-ST entrepreneurs and thus promote inclusive growth. The Hub supports entrepreneurs of the SC and ST communities in capacity building, market linkages, finance facilitation and tender bid participation.

Under the Special Credit Linked Capital Subsidy Scheme, all the SC-ST MSEs of manufacturing as well as service sector are eligible for 25% subsidy, with ceiling of Rs. 25 lakh, for procurement of Plant & Machinery and equipment through institutional credit.

Check out the website of the Hub here: https://www.scsthub.in/ to know more about the schemes, programs and how they serve SC/ST entrepreneurs.