Small SC/ST entrepreneurs get CII help

Twenty-one year old Shammi Bhatia runs an event management business, where he employs around three to five people. Till about six months back he was only a light decorator, working part-time, with no fixed source of income.

This is the result of the 'Entrepreneurship Development Programme' of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) which has helped the likes of Shammi, from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes across the country, to set up their own businesses.

In line with the government's agenda of inclusive growth, the Indian industry is pursuing affirmative action. It is opposed to caste based reservation. Affirmative action refers to a direct effort to ameliorate the educational and employment situations of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes of the country.

This programme of CII, started in April this year, has begun bearing fruit. As many as 30 of the 80 candidates trained at the Regional Centre of Entrepreneurial Development (RCED), the non- governmental organisation CII has joined hands with, have already started their own enterprises.

Many others are in the process of acquiring loans. The loan requirement for each participant varies from Rs 50,000 to Rs 100,000.

CII has funded the training of these candidates whereas the NGO concerned provided the necessary training. The cost per candidate incurred was around Rs 4000. It is also running similar programmes in collaboration with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute in seven cities like Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Gwalior and others.

Business Standard on its visit to RCED in Jalandhar and Hoshiapur found that the young entrepreneurs were involved in various businesses, from plumbing to that of an electrician, boutiques, footwear and others.

"The process of selecting a suitable NGO was extremely important for us. RCED had the requisite network with financial institutions and trustworthy credentials," said a CII official.

RCED is supported by a host of central government ministries and departments. These include the Ministry of defence, Consumer affairs, food processing industries, small- scale agro and rural industries and others.

Financial resources for these upcoming businesses are being provided by organisations like the Khadi and Village Industries Commission, District Industries Centres, banks like the Small Industries Development Bank of India, Industrial Development Bank of India, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, Punjab National Bank and others.

After meeting with a certain level of success, CII plans to take these models as success stories to its members and ask them to take it forward at an individual level also.

"This programme, though very recent, is proving to be fruitful. We are now focusing on building the momentum. Most of the large enterprises are doing considerable work in this regards. In order to make a tangible difference we need to involve the small and medium sized businesses into this." Salil Singhal, deputy chairman, CII Northern Region and chairman, Secure Meters Ltd said.