Modi to announce new initiatives for SC/ST entrepreneurs next week

TIL Desk Business/New Delhi/ Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil key initiatives and a hub to provide support to entrepreneurs from the SC/ST community in Ludhiana, Punjab, next Tuesday.

The National SC/ST Hub, under the micro, small and medium enterprises ministry, was announced in the Budget as well. With an initial outlay of Rs 490 crore, the hub will work towards strengthening market access/linkage, monitoring, capacity building, leveraging financial support schemes and sharing industry-best practices.

It will also enable central public sector enterprises to fulfil the procurement target set by the government. The Public Procurement Policy 2012 stipulates that 4 per cent of procurement done by ministries, departments and CPSEs will have to be from enterprises owned by SC/ST entrepreneurs.

The MSME sector, including the service segment, is a key driver of India’s economic growth as it contributes nearly 38 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product and employs close to 11 crore people.