Rama Krishna Sangem
The DICCI (Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) is today a pioneering business body not only in India, but in the world. The organization draws respect and admiration for its motto of making SC/STs not just stand up on their legs but also ensuring them the job givers to one and all.
Established 25 years ago by Dr Milind Kamble who subsequently honored with Padma Shree award, DICCI now is a major economic force with chapters in all states in the country. Inspired by Dr BR Ambedkar’s philosophy, this business body believes in “beating caste with capital”.;
Narra Ravi Kumar, president of All India DICCI is the current torch bearer of this legacy and leading it alongside Dr Milind Kamble. This 62 year old poli9tician turned business leader is of the firm view that if India had to become a developed nation by 2047, it has to take along the vast number of SC/’STs.
He spoke to Excel India on the occasion of November 26, the Constitution Day, when the national document authored under the leadership of Dr Ambedkar was adopted. “Unless the SC/STs were developed as equals with all others, it is just impossible for India to become a developed nation by 2047,” is what he says.
Excerpts from the interview:
Q: What needs to be done to achieve the goal of India becoming a developed country or Viksit Bharat, by 204
A: We have already seen what has happened to our growth in the last 75 years since Independence. We need to have a comprehensive review on this. From DICCI, we have given a research paper on the status of SC/STs and what they had achieved to the government last year, 2023.
If we observe closely, in the earlier decades, most of the employment was generated in the government departments and public sector undertakings. But, after the liberalization in early 1990s, the situation has changed. Government jobs have come down.
Even if we have reservations, there are not enough jobs in government sector. We have suggested that the only way to employ our youth is to promote entrepreneurship in a big way and ensure fair representation to SC/STs in private sector jobs too.
SC/STs account for about 35 crore of our population. Unless this big chunk of our people is brought on par with others, how can we achieve the goal of developed India? Traditionally, SC/STs are not inclined to entrepreneurship. So it is imperative to take enough steps to make them entrepreneurs.
How can we do this?
We have suggested many measures for this. Sustained efforts must be made in this direction. We want tax incentives for our entrepreneurs. A certain portion of trade can be earmarked for them. They will be wealth creators, if given opportunities. We believe in inclusiveness. That is possible when we mainstream SC/STs.
What is the situation in private sector?
We are working on this front too. In the US, most of big MNCs like Apple, Amazon and others have adopted policy frameworks to ensure fair representation to the marginalized and minorities. They include blacks, Hispanics and even women.
1963 was a turning point when Martin Luther King Jr took out a big rally in the US and declared that “we don’t want to be a burden on the nation, through welfare schemes, we want to become taxpayers on par with you”. This is an inspiration for us too at DICCI.
Precisely, the same demands were echoed by Dr Milind Kamble who took out a rally in Pune in 2005-06 and demanded reservation for SC/STs in private sector too. Later, then PM Dr Manmohan Singh called for a meeting with industry bodies like CII, FICCI, DICCI and Assocham etc to discuss our demands.
In the meeting, the big companies assured that the government that there was no need to make a law, but they on their own will ensure quota for SC/STs in private sector too. But, except Tatas, others failed to keep their promise. Tatas have been announcing the success stories of SC/STs supported by their companies.
I suggest now that minimum each company should at least mentor one SC/ST executives at the senior management level every year. There are 8,000 companies in CII, so we can see 8,000 SC/ST top executives every year. Around Rs 425 crore worth contracts are being given to SC/ST entrepreneurs.
Any follow up measures are taken?
We are pressing for steps similar to those that had been initiated in the US with National Black Chamber of Commerce and National Minority Suppliers Development Council in America. In the US, there is a separate department for minorities and black entrepreneurs.
We too should similar protection and nurturing for our SC/ST entrepreneurs here. Due to our efforts, the government of India has created a SC/ST entrepreneurs Hub. But, there is not enough participation from big Indian companies to accommodate SC/STs.
This is basically due to lack of clarity on the status of SC/ST entrepreneurs. In the US, blacks are categorized as minorities, but in India, minorities are of religious nature. So, we want social backwardness as the criteria. We are trying to change mindsets of India big businesses.
What’s your message to SC/ST entrepreneurs at DICCI?
We want them not to compromise on the quality or timelines of supply deliveries. We want to be on par with all others in the industry. DICCI never seeks any concessions on performance or efficiency. There is enough highly educated and talented youth and entrepreneurs among SC/STs now.
That’s good for our country to progress by 2047.
