The MSME ministry today said it has conducted detailed consultations with public sector enterprises on ways to achieve the target of mandatory procurement from SC/ST entrepreneurs.
The Public Procurement Policy 2012 stipulates that 4 per cent of the total procurement shall be done by ministries, departments and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) from the entities owned by SC/ST.
National 'SC/ST Hub Conclave' was chaired by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Secretary Arun Kumar Panda. Representatives from about 50 CPSEs from 20 ministries also participated in the conclave.
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"The interaction aims to bring together leading CPSEs from different sectors and initiate discussion to understand the gaps and challenges in realising the mandate of public procurement policy," the ministry said in a statement.
The conclave also aimed at developing an understanding of procurement requirements of CPSEs and facilitating them in vendor development programme.
"In order to receive inputs and suggestions from CPSES, an open discussion was organised during the conclave to decide upon the future course of action," it said.
The key areas of the discussion were - current status of procurement done by CPSEs from MSMEs (including SC/ST units) during the last financial year, need for a consolidated database of SC/ST vendors, capacity building programmes for addressing the skills gap and use of technology.
National SC-ST Hub aims to create an ecosystem for SC/ST entrepreneurs by assisting them in technology upgradation and capacity building so that they can effectively participate in public procurement processes.
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