MSME Ministry Reviews CPSE Compliance with 4% Mandatory SC/ST MSE Procurement Target

New Delhi, Nov 11 (KNN) The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) has reviewed procurement compliance by Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) with the mandatory 4 per cent target for purchases from Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) micro and small enterprises (MSEs).

The review meeting, chaired by Ministry of MSME Joint Secretary Mercy Epao, was held at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre on November 5 and brought together officials from the MSME Ministry, Department of Public Enterprises, National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) and Government e-Marketplace (GeM).

Representatives from 30 CPSEs, including BHEL, BEL, NTPC, Airports Authority of India, BEML and Coal India, also participated in the meeting.

Discussions focused on procurement bottlenecks, successful institutional practices and stronger coordination among CPSEs, GeM and National SC-ST Hub offices.

Procurement from SC/ST MSEs Rises

Epao said public procurement from SC/ST MSEs increased more than 36 times in 2025-26 since the inception of the National SC-ST Hub scheme.

She introduced the Entrepreneur Awareness and Special Vendor Development Programme to strengthen commercial linkages between small suppliers and industrial buyers.

The Joint Secretary urged CPSEs to prepare action plans to meet the procurement target and support vendor registration, product and service matchmaking, local supplier connections and handholding.

GeM Additional CEO Ajit Chavan outlined digital measures to improve SC/ST MSE participation in tenders, including dedicated marketplace filters to identify such sellers. He also urged CPSEs to use GeM's designated nodal officers for supplier support.

Participating agencies agreed to strengthen collaboration with the National SC-ST Hub through targeted vendor development drives, supplier training and wider digital onboarding to increase procurement from SC/ST and women-owned MSEs.

(KNN Bureau)