Jammu and Kashmir Khadi and Village Industries Board today organised one-day national vendor development programme for micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) under National Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe Hub, scheme in Kashmir Division.On the occasion, Secretary/CEO, J&K KVIB, Rashid Ahmad Qadri provided detailed informed about the entrepreneurship programs under various national and local schemes for the unemployed youth of J&K, which provide supportive ecosystem for their growth.While speaking about the importance of the program, Qadri stressed that the aim of conducting such programs is to help the growth of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes by improving the flow of financial assistance, skill development and other innovative initiatives.“Awareness camps and seminars should be organized regularly in order to sensitize the SC-ST population regarding the establishment of MSMEs and also aware them about many business opportunities that can be availed,” said Qadri.Deliberating about the basic objective of organising programs on vendor development, the Speakers said that the aim of organizing the programme is to bring stakeholders such as PSUs/ Large Scale Enterprises, financial institutions and micro, small and medium enterprises on a common platform, where all can get ample scope for interaction and exchange views.
“The platform we offered today for the SC-ST youth will help them to motivate and extract mutual benefit from each other and augment growth through better co-existence. SC-ST suppliers would also be adopted under vendor development programs,” says Deputy CEO, KVIB, Muzaffar Allaqband.“Three vendor development programs are being held in Jammu, Srinagar and Leh,” he added.The officials of the KVIB informed the gathering that around 22 awareness and five workshops for SC-ST have been organised this year in various districts across the State. The programs enriched their knowledge about the latest technology, quality trends, and new ways of marketing, policies and procedures involved in the supply of product.Under the NSSH scheme, the government is planning to undertake various skill development programs in consultation with the professional agencies which would be hired for this purpose.KVIB along with various stakeholders will organize exhibitions, where SC ST enterprises will participate without incurring the expenditure for participation. Two such exhibitions are proposed to be organized in Leh and Jammu.The program was attended by General Manager, SICOP, Waseem Ahmad, Cluster Head, J&K Bank Budgam and Ganderbal, entrepreneurs from SC-ST and other officials from KVIB.