One of the arguments in favour of India’s long-term growth prospects is that half the population is below 30 — people at that age are ready to take risks more than, say, people above 45 who need to plan their retirement and, therefore, have no appetite for financial adventures. To put it differently, India for long will sprout entrepreneurs like no other country in the world. This sure is good news. There are signs of entrepreneurship all over. The stranglehold of families over industry is a thing of the past. But has it reached the lowest strata of the society, the Dalits?
Unfortunately, there exists no data on Dalit entrepreneurship. Surveys done by the government capture the assets owned by Dalit households, and there is some vague information on the number of self-employed Dalits. But there is absolutely nothing on entrepreneurs and businessmen. Now, the Centre for the Advanced Study of India (CASI) in the University of Pennsylvania has initiated a survey to count the Dalits who have a business of Rs 1 crore or more. So far, 500 or so have been profiled in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, the National Capital Region of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The survey next moves to the southern states. The number may look good but please remember there are 166 million Dalits in the country.
According to Chandra Bhan Prasad, who is involved in the survey, it will take another year and a half to draw a nationwide map of Dalit entrepreneurs. Thus far, the survey team has come across Dalit entrepreneurs (with a business of over a crore) across sectors — from healthcare and hospitality to manufacturing, trading and construction. For some strange reason, their maximum concentration is in manufacturing and construction. Some, according to Mr Prasad, have a turnover of over Rs 1,000 crore! Most of these companies are not listed on the stock market, so it’s difficult to ascertain the worth of these entrepreneurs.
There is some more good news on this front. A recent study by Devesh Kapur (he heads CASI), Mr Prasad, Lant Pritchett and D Shyam Babu done in 20,000 Dalit households of Uttar Pradesh found that there has been a significant improvement in the socio-economic condition of the Dalits between 1990, the year before economic reforms were initiated, and 2008. Thus, they were found to (1) live in better houses, (2) eat better food, and (3) own more consumer goods. The material markers, says Mr Prasad, have overtaken the social markers in rural India. The study also showed that there has been a sharp fall in the number of Dalits working as farm labour, while there has been a perceptible rise in the number of Dalits running businesses. The societal damage done over centuries has been undone, to some extent, by economic reforms in two decades!
Another sign of this change is the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry or DICCI. Though formed in 2005, the industry association has really got going in the recent past. According to its president, Milind Prahlad Kamble, who runs a construction business, DICCI has over 1,000 members. At the moment, Maharashtra seems to dominate with over 400 members (Gujarat comes next with about 200 members), but that’s because DICCI started in Pune. Anybody with a turnover of Rs 25 lakh and above can become a member; the annual fee is Rs 2,500. DICCI has added two chapters, one each at Mumbai and Sangli, and more could come up in the days ahead at Ludhiana, Nagpur and Delhi. Mr Kamble has an ambitious target to put up 50 chapters by the end of the year.
Industry associations lobby the government on behalf of their members. What does DICCI do? The first, and biggest, problem Dalit entrepreneurs face, says Mr Kamble, is finance. Because they have no assets, banks are reluctant to lend. True, the ministry of social justice and empowerment runs the National Schedule Caste Finance Development Corporation but the size of its loans is small – from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh –, though the interest rate is subsidised by the government. The corporation sanctioned loans worth Rs 232 crore in 2010-11, and disbursed Rs 180 crore. Mr Kamble says one can become self-employed with this kind of money but not an entrepreneur. So, this is at the heart of what DICCI does. Mr Kamble had recently met Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia over this problem. Mr Ahluwalia, he says, suggested a venture capital fund for Dalits to which the government could contribute.
Mr Kamble is an energetic man. He has organised an interaction between DICCI and the Confederation of Indian Industry in Pune so that his members could network with larger businessmen. DICCI has also taken on board three mentors: Raghunath Anant Mashelkar (the former director general of the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research), Mr Prasad and Anu Aga. Dr Mashelkar, who is a member of the National Innovation Council, had visited an exhibition held by DICCI in Pune, where Mr Kamble asked him to become a mentor and Dr Mashelkar readily agreed. While Mr Prasad and Dr Mashelkar are like guides, DICCI members stand to gain the most from Ms Aga’s mentorship. She, claims Mr Kamble, has taken a list of DICCI members who could get some work from Thermax. Well begun is half done!
