Govt. advises PSBs to increase coverage of SCs

The Minister on Tuesday advised PSBs to increase the coverage of SCs in all schemes. She said they needed to look into their needs for capacity building and entrepreneurship development.

She asked to fill the remaining vacancies in a time-bound manner.

There are improvements to be carried out in all schemes like the Credit Enhancement Guarantee Scheme for CEGSSC and Fund VCF. She said that it may be brought up by the Department of Financial Services DFS after a discussion with agencies like the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry DICCI, which is working with at the grassroots level.

The FM chaired a performance review of PSBs on credit and other welfare schemes for scheduled castes. Credit facilities to SCs and STs are part of the priority-sector lending norms of the RBI CEGSSC, an initiative by the ministry of social justice and empowerment with the aim to encourage and promote entrepreneurship. They are for scheduled castes who are oriented towards innovations and supported by PSBs and financial institutions.

This is going to create wealth, jobs, develop confidence and promote profitable businesses. VCF for SCs is dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship by providing concessional Maharashtra tops India's list of micro, small and medium enterprises owned by entrepreneurs belonging to SCs. It has as many as 96,805 such enterprises.

The minister said that PSBs must be informed twice every year of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes on progress in recruitment and credit to SCs, once in April and October.