The State government is committed to promote entrepreneurship among Dalits and will consider setting up a separate cell in the State Financial Corporation, Minister for Major Industries and Sugar J. Geetha Reddy said.
Addressing a seminar on opportunities and obstacles for SC/ST entrepreneurs, organised by Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), here on Friday, she called on Dalit entrepreneurs to focus on the training of employees.
The government has been proactive and has taken a number of steps to remove the barriers for promoting Dalit businesses like scrapping the ‘ineligible' list of industries, she added.
Venture capital fund
Congress MP G. Vivekanand said that a Dalit venture capital fund would be ready next year. He urged the government to rope in the CII to identify the projects that Dalits would be able to take up and allocate funds to promote entrepreneurship among them.
He said timely repayment of loans would increase the standing of Dalit entrepreneurs among banks.
Welcoming the slow and silent transformation of Dalits from docile job seekers to aggressive entrepreneurs, Commissioner of Industries R Karikal Valaven said economic uplift is the first step to development of the community.
He cautioned the Dalits against falling prey to private non-bank financial companies.
Appreciation
President of DICCI N Ravi Kumar said the quality of products of enterprises owned by Dalits had won appreciation of leading industrialists such as Ratan Tata and Adi Godrej who had decided to source 25 per cent of their purchases from them. Minister for Small Scale Industries G Prasad Kumar also addressed the gathering.
