THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 10, 2026
The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has urged
Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) to intensify procurement from micro
and small enterprises owned by Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST),
stressing the need for coordinated efforts to achieve the mandated four per cent
procurement target under the government's Public Procurement Policy.
At a round table discussion held at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre
here on November 5, senior government officials and representatives of 30 CPSEs
deliberated on the challenges in meeting the procurement target, sharing of
best practices and measures to expand market access for SC/ST entrepreneurs.
The meeting was chaired by Mercy Epao, Joint Secretary, Ministry of MSME,
and attended by Ajit Chavan, Additional Chief Executive Officer of Government
e-Marketplace (GeM), S S Acharya, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of National
Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), and senior officials from the Ministry,
Department of Public Enterprises and NSIC.
Addressing the participants, Epao highlighted the initiatives undertaken
under the National SC-ST Hub (NSSH) Scheme to promote and handhold SC/ST-owned
micro and small enterprises, noting that public procurement from these
enterprises had registered a more than 36-fold increase in FY 2025-26 compared
with the scheme's inception.
She also highlighted the newly introduced Entrepreneur Awareness and
Special Vendor Development Programme (EA&SVDP), aimed at creating awareness
among SC/ST entrepreneurs and facilitating their networking with CPSEs.
Urging public sector enterprises to formulate internal action plans to
achieve the mandated procurement target, Epao called for greater support in
vendor registration and enlistment, product and service matchmaking,
regional-level connectivity with SC/ST enterprises and sustained handholding.
Chavan acknowledged the MSME Ministry's contribution towards empowering
small enterprises and achieving key milestones under the public procurement
framework. He outlined various measures introduced by GeM to facilitate the
participation of SC/ST-owned MSEs in tenders, including dedicated marketplace
filters to identify sellers from these categories.
Emphasising the need to widen participation across diverse sectors,
particularly services and industry-specific verticals, he encouraged CPSEs to
utilise the handholding support offered by GeM's designated nodal officer.
The participating CPSEs included BHEL, BEL, NTPC, Airports Authority of
India (AAI), BEML and Coal India Ltd, among others.
The deliberations also provided an opportunity for CPSEs to interact with
better-performing counterparts, identify implementation gaps and explore
practical solutions to procurement-related challenges.
The meeting further underlined the need to strengthen coordination among NSSH offices, GeM and CPSEs through vendor development programmes, capacity-building initiatives and digital facilitation. The broader objective is to create a more inclusive procurement ecosystem by expanding opportunities for SC/ST-owned as well as women-owned micro and small enterprises.
The Ministry emphasised that closer institutional coordination and targeted support would be critical to translating the government's public procurement mandate into greater business opportunities and sustainable growth for disadvantaged entrepreneurs.
