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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Government set to make 4 per cent of its yearly buy from dalit firms, boost MSME sector by Sidhartha & Subodh Ghildiyal

Government set to make 4 per cent of its yearly buy from dalit firms, boost MSME sector by Sidhartha & Subodh Ghildiyal

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published Published on Sep 12, 2011   modified Modified on Sep 12, 2011

The Centre is set to make it compulsory for 4% of its annual purchases to be made from units run by dalits and tribals in what will be its strongest bait for classes that hold the key to political battles at the Centre and states. A rough estimate of the proposed spending comes to Rs 25,000 crore.

Preferential procurement has been an early poll promise of UPA and its delivery after seven years in power is bound to be seen through the prism of Uttar Pradesh elections where Congress is vying with dalit czarina Mayawati to recapture some political space after decades in the wilderness.

The 4% purchase quota proposed by the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) is part of the policy that 20% of government procurement be done from MSME.

SHOP SOP

Dalit quota of govt. purchases is part of MSME department's quota of 20% 25,000cr- 94,000cr business likely to come to dalit-run units An early UPA poll promise, quota has been 7 years in coming Move seen as timed for UP polls, in a bid to wrest votebank from Mayawati

Dalit-run firms may earn Rs 25k cr from government

With the Centre planning to make it compulsory for 4% of its annual purchases to be made from units run by dalits and tribals , activists believe that mandatory purchases from these units will boost entrepreneurship among poor classes with assured state clientele and without the fear of competition from entrenched businessmen . The demand gained ground in the new economy where job quota was shown to have limitations of reach.

The quantum of business available for dalit units may be big . An OECD estimate had suggested that government purchases amounted to 30 % of GDP, thereby making business of Rs 94 ,000 crore available for dalit units . But even by the lower estimate based on the Centre's spending pattern , Rs 25,000 crore may be available to units run by SC /STs.

This year , the Centre budgeted to spend around Rs 12.5 lakh crore , of which defence spending and interest payments add up to Rs 5 lakh crore , while subsidies are estimated at Rs 1.4 lakh crore . So , procurement by MSMEs would be around Rs 1.2 lakh crore.

It is not a small figure , going by the Centre's first tentative steps after years of reluctance in the face of strong lobbying . A sub-committee of the cabinet committee on dalit affairs in UPA 1 had suggested that 30 % of government purchases be made from SC /STs . The inspiration for purchase quota comes from the Digvijay Singh regime in MP where it was part of state policy after Bhopal declaration.

The move is bound to attractthe attention of socialjustice observers. For Congress, it would be a waytobluntthecriticism among SC /STs after failing to extend the frontiers of job reservation to private sector as promised in UPA 1. Its proposal for 5% quota in private enterprises which availed government funding met with lukewarm response and has been put in deep freeze .

If enacted now , Congress could use it as a weapon in the 2012 UP assembly polls to contrast its achievement with the work done by the Mayawati regime for dalits , a segment Rahul Gandhi has been trying hard to woo.


The Economic Times, 12 September, 2011, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/government-set-to-make-4-per-cent-of-its-yearly-buy-from-dalit-firms-boost-msme-sector/articleshow/99533


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