National Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Hub

India is witnessing rapid growth and prosperity. For this to be truly inclusive, all sections of the society need to partake in this prosperity. Besides wage employment and education, the marginalized sections of the society also need to envision, create and scale up ventures to be a major participant in this growth story. While in the past there has been some increase in the number of SC/ST owned enterprises, this needs to increase substantially to enable the socio-economic empowerment of the SC/ST communities. In this context, the National SC/ST Hub is an initiative of the Government of India targeted towards developing a supportive ecosystem towards SC/ST entrepreneurs.

The National SC/ST Hub (NSSH) provides professional support to SC/ST enterprises thereby enabling them to effectively participate in public procurement process. This involves participation by CPSEs/Central Ministries, States, Industry Associations such as DICCI and others. The Hub also works towards the development of new entrepreneurs to participate in procurement process leveraging on the 'Stand up India' programme.

The Ministry of MSME has made an initial allocation of Rs. 490 Crore for the period 2016-2020 for the National SC/ST Hub.

The Hub operates out of the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) headquartered in Delhi, supported by a special cell. All new and existing SC/ST entrepreneurs are registered on the MSME Databank (www.msmedatabank.in) of the Ministry of MSME. A separate website www.scsthub.in has been launched for stakeholders.

High Powered Monitoring Committee

Minister of MSME is the chairperson of the committee. The committee members are representatives of various stakeholders including states, various ministries, industry associations & SC/ST entrepreneurs.

Advisory Committee

This committee works under the High Powered Monitoring Committee to bring the industry and SC/ST entrepreneurs' perspective to the Hub, developing an effective, mutually beneficial relationship between the target group and the Government.

Empowered Project Approval Committee

Secretary, Ministry of MSME chairs this committee. This Committee ensures flexibilities to accommodate changing requirements of SC/ST entrepreneurs.