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Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Dicci)’s show on the opening day of its fourth industrial and trade expo being held here in Hyderabad, the first to be held outside Maharashtra, received a shot in the arm when Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao declared that Dalit entrepreneurs across the country would be eligible for the special incentives being given to their counterparts in the new state.
“Just file an application online and you would get all the approvals for your project within 15 days. You need not meet any one except me, that too over a cup of tea on my invitation,” Rao said in his inaugural address.
Over 3,000 delegates across 14 states are taking part in the three-day event while more than 300 Dalit entrepreneurs, mostly vendors to big companies like Mahindras and Tatas, are showcasing their products. Presence of high-profile individuals including Godrej group chairman Adi Godrej and Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman among others has given a boost to the event.
Sitharaman reiterated that the mandatory procurement from SMEs of Dalit enterprises to the extent of 4 per cent by the public sector undertakings would come into effect from April this year.
The Telangana government, apart from extending an investment subsidy of up to Rs 75 lakh, would also provide up to Rs 5 crore margin money to a Dalit entrepreneur to enable him to secure a bank loan without a collateral and other complex processes.
Rao also announced that 22 per cent of all the industrial land will be reserved for SC and ST entrepreneurs and this facility would also be extended to those from outside the state. “Apart from this, we have prepared a plan to develop at least 200 contractors from out of Dalit communities and they are being given training at the National Academy of Construction. They will be awarded government works of all the departments,” he said.
He announced a Rs 5-crore assistance and one acre land in Hyderabad to set up an incubation centre for Dalit entrepreneurs as proposed by Dicci.
Meanwhile, Godrej group chairman Adi Godrej has explained the affirmative action taken up by the private industrial houses to empower Dalits and the Dalit entrepreneurs in the country. Since 2006 Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has provided 1 lakh scholarships to Dalit children and imparted skill development training to about 2.3 lakh students, according to him. Tata Group representative Srinivas Koppolu said the employees from the SC and ST communities comprise 14 per cent of the total work force across the Tata group companies as against an internal mandate of 10 per cent.
