The Hindu Business Line : Make them entrepreneurs

At first glance, it would seem that the reports of major industry organisations on quotas for Scheduled Castes/Tribes in the private sector are so divergent as to make any concerted action plan almost impossible. The CII-Assocham joint report favours affirmative action, promising results according to a self-regulatory voluntary effort within a given time frame and under a code of conduct for non-complying members. To facilitate this process, companies would strengthen their human resource divisions to enhance access for applications from SC/ST candidates. But all this is not unqualified for the CII report stresses "equal qualifications and competence for employment", thereby promising equal rather than preferential treatment for SC/ST applicants. FICCI, on the other hand, has made it clear that half its members are against reservations, thus rejecting the CII-Assocham idea of code of conduct for "non-compliance". FICCI, however, agrees with the latter on one or two points.

On deeper reflection the convergences between the two have more potential for policy initiative on the issue than their differences spell a return to the drawing board. Policymakers keen on affirmative action may have before them a way to turn the populism into meaningful practice. Both sides stress the importance of primary and secondary education. They are supportive of entrepreneurial activity among the SC/STs. While the CII combine suggests their members would mentor such activity, FICCI feels the Government must devise a plan that includes the provision of cheap capital through financial institutions for the target groups. In line with the price preference for public sector units, FICCI argues for similar facilitation for SC/ST-promoted enterprises. In a positive way, FICCI throws the ball back into the Government's court and the policymaker would do well to pick it up. Besides generating employment opportunities, the policymaker must create the environment for entrepreneurship among the SC/STs. Given the size and the undeveloped nature of the domestic market, the scope for small enterprises is indeed vast. To this end, technical education schools that have been turning out workers for assembly-line jobs must now be complemented by infrastructure that encourages business as an option. Most developed societies, including the US, have federal/state-funded credit agencies for small and micro-businesses, some of which have morphed into multinationals.

Most populist measures, free and expecting little in return, are hardly flattering to the target groups. Loan melas of yore and job quotas for deprived groups now do little to assert human dignity or foster enterprise; providing technical skills and mentoring them along with resources would go a longer way in lifting the deprived than just reserving a job for them. If the Centre is committed to improving the lot of the deprived, the Human Resource Development Ministry must take the lead in devising an action plan for those belonging to the SC/ST through enterprise promotion, as the two reports suggest.