Minister for Social Welfare Ravela Kishore Babu has said a venture capital fund will be set up under the SC/ST Sub Plan to finance entrepreneurs belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The venture capital would draw grants from SC/ST Sub Plan and would meet the requirements of Dalit entrepreneurs willing to set up industries.
Dalit entrepreneurs have been finding extremely difficult to get loans from banks, which insist on collateral security and primary security, Mr. Kishore Babu said at a public meeting organised by Dalit and tribal associations here on Monday.
The Minister also said those wishing to set up industries would be allotted plots in Special Economic Zones (SEZ) exclusively for SC/ST categories. Land banks, both in rural and urban areas, would be created to help farmers and entrepreneurs, he said.
Asserting that the State government was committed to implement the historic SC/ST Sub Plan envisioned with a broader goal of creating an inclusive society, the Minister said a district-wide review of implementation of the sub plan would be taken up soon.
Those found misappropriating funds or misusing their official position would be punished severely, he said.
Mr. Kishore Babu, former IRTS officer, also said he had been handpicked by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for the post and vowed that he would strive for the welfare of weaker sections. He also said he had studied the implementation of SC/ST Sub Plan in various states before the Act came into force and found the Karnataka model most suited for Andhra Pradesh.
Later, the Minister was felicitated by various Dalit and tribal associations.
MLAs Tenali Srvan Kumar (Tadikonda) and Nakka Anand Babu (Vemuru), Dalit Bahujan Front convener Melam Bhagya Rao, district registrar K. Balaswamy and representatives from various associations were among those present.
