Lok Sabha Question No. 308 (STARRED), answered on 2023-08-10
Subject: National SC/ST Hub Action Plan
Ministry: MICRO,SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES
Asked by: Arun Sao, Mohan Mandavi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 308 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.08.2023

## NATIONAL SC/ST HUB ACTION PLAN

*308.

SHRI ARUN SAO: SHRI MOHAN MANDAVI:

Will the Minister of MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken steps under National SC/ST Hub Action Plan to increase the Government procurement from SC/ST enterprises and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the  details  of  various  stakeholders  of  the  project  and  the  role  played  by  National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSCFDC) in this project;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  taken  steps  to  support  newly  emerging  small  SC/ST entrepreneurs facing competition from market forces and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) whether the Government proposes to provide other kind of help besides financial help to the SC/ST entrepreneurs and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (SHRI NARAYAN RANE)

- (a) to (d): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  THE  LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *308 FOR ANSWER ON 10.08.2023.

- (a): Yes Sir.  The  Ministry  of  Micro,  Small  and  Medium  Enterprises  (MSME) has  been implementing  National  Scheduled  Caste  and  Scheduled  Tribe  Hub  (NSSH)  Scheme  since October, 2016 to promote entrepreneurship amongst the SCs/STs and to fulfill the mandated 4% of procurement from SC/ST MSEs under the Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises, Government of India. Details are at Annexure.
- (b): The  stakeholders  of  this  Scheme  involve  Banks,  Training  Institutions,  CPSEs  and Industry Associations. The National Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation (NSCFDC) has been extending marketing facility by providing free stalls in various Fairs and exhibitions. Also, an MoU between NSIC and NSCFDC has been signed on 27.06.2023 to support the SC beneficiaries through sharing of database, assist them to leverage the benefits of credit and non credit based Schemes and organize joint awareness & outreach activities.
- (c) & (d): The  Government  has  taken  initiatives  to  support  MSMEs  including  newly emerging SC/ST entrepreneurs such as Capacity Building for First Time Exporters (CBFTE) Scheme  to  encourage  export.  This  Scheme  has  three  reimbursement  components  (i) membership fee with Export Promotion Councils (ii) Insurance premium for exports (iii) Fee on Testing and quality Certification.

Beside  financial  help,  significant  steps  taken  by  the  Ministry  to  provide  support  to MSMEs, including SC/ST entrepreneurs are as follows:

- (i) Revised criteria for classification of MSMEs to widen the ambit of benefits.
- (ii) Inclusion of Retail and Wholesale Traders w.e.f. 02.07.2021.
- (iii) Udyam  registration  Portal  for  online  registration  to  bring  MSMEs  under  formal sector and help them access to formal credit.
- (iv) SAMADHAAN portal to monitor and address issue of delayed payments.
- (v) SAMBANDH portal to monitor procurement by Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs), and Government of India Ministries/Departments.
- (vi) Online  Champions  Portal  w.e.f.  June,  2020  to  redress  grievances  and  handhold MSMEs having different types of queries.
- (vii) MSME Global Mart, a B2B portal of NSIC offering infomediary services.
- (viii) Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund to help MSMEs to secure growth capital.
- (ix) Launched Innovative Scheme which have three components viz. Incubation; Design and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
- (x) Sustainable (ZED) Certification Scheme to help in improving the processes quality and reduce the negative effect on the environment.

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## Annexure

## Annexure referred to in reply to part (a) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. *308 for answer on 10.08.2023 regarding 'National SC/ST Hub Action Plan'

The National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC), a CPSE under this Ministry is the Nodal Agency for the National SC/ST Hub (NSSH) Scheme. To achieve the objective of the Scheme, several steps have been taken up such as awareness campaigns, skilling and capacity building  programs;  Special  Vendor  Development  workshops,  facilitation  of  credit  through Special Credit Linked Capital subsidy with ceiling of Rs.25 Lakh on institutional finance for procurement of Plant & Machinery, market linkages (participation in domestic and foreign exhibitions)  through  Special  Market  Assistance  Scheme  (SMAS),  subsidy  for  registration under  Single  Point  Registration  Scheme  of  NSIC,  subsidy  for  enrollment  on  Government promoted e-commerce portals such as GeM, e-khadi, TRIFED, Tribes India, MSME Mart, etc. To extend on ground handholding support, 15 NSSH Offices have been set up at various locations across the country.

The Ministry of MSME has been engaging organizations such as Technology Centres and Tool  Rooms,  National  Institute  of  MSME  (ni-msme),  Technology  Centres  of  NSIC  and Central Institute of Petro Chemicals, Engineering and Technology (CIPET) to skill SCs/STs. Capacity  Building  for  Bank  officials  to  make  them  aware  of  the  Special  Credit  Linked Capital  subsidy  benefits,  regular  review  meetings  with  Central  Public  Sector  Enterprises (CPSEs)  for  monitoring  procurement  from  SC/ST  MSEs  and  organizing  State  level Conclaves to reach out to the targeted beneficiaries. All these initiatives are being perused to help SC/ST MSMEs become competitive in Tender bidding and to enhance in procurement by CPSEs and Government Ministries. The public procurement has increased from Rs 99.37 Crore in 2015-16 to Rs 1472.80 Crore in 2022-23.