Milind Kamble, president of the Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI), recently led the first scheduled caste/scheduled tribe delegation to the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland. In an interview with Shubhangi Khapre, Kamble urged Dalit and tribal youth to work towards economic empowerment and become job creators, not job seekers.
Edited excerpts:
Q: What was the objective of leading a DICCI delegation to Davos?
Milind Kamble: As the founding president of DICCI, I firmly believe that we must keep pace with the developments that are taking place beyond national borders. This was the first time that DICCI was represented in Davos. For someone championing the cause of Dalit entrepreneurs, I felt it was the right forum to explore and learn about emerging economic models, business trends and strategies. It was a great learning experience, which will be useful to promote futuristic business models.
Q: Can you specify any key sectors?
Milind Kamble: With more than 150 countries participating, the World Economic Forum in Switzerland (Davos) was an eye-opener for me. I got a glimpse of what is happening on the economic front globally, how the captains and CEOs of the industry think, what their roadmap looks like. For example, there was a lot of talk about artificial intelligence, innovation, data centers… Another segment that was discussed extensively was that related to green and sustainable businesses. The renewable energy component was hard to miss. Thus, companies around the world have gone beyond conventional models.
Q: What is the message you want to convey to Dalit businessmen after the Davos tour?
Milind Kamble: Think big. If there is one lesson I have learned from there, it is to release the barriers that bind you and move forward. You have to think big. The sky is the limit.
Q: How realistic is it for a Dalit entrepreneur to make the dream come true in a highly polarized and caste-divided society?
Milind Kamble: I am eternally optimistic. I believe that no power can turn back those who have great willpower to pursue their goals. At DICCI we have more than one hundred entrepreneurs with success stories. They have achieved an annual turnover of more than 100 million rupees. Most of them were first-generation entrepreneurs whose life was a fight for survival. Therefore, all these conversations about discrimination and socio-politics become redundant when one is determinedly following their roadmap. For those who don’t want to do it, there will be hundreds of excuses. I want young people to believe in themselves and take the world by storm.
Q: Can this be done without socio-political support?
Milind Kamble: The Dalit community, which was under oppression for centuries, is a politically awakened community. Dr BR Ambedkar has already instilled in them the importance of education and fundamental rights through a strong Constitution. Now they have to work on economic empowerment. To achieve this, every potential Dalit individual should dream big. Exploit opportunities to take advantage. At DICCI, we always tell newcomers to strive to become job creators, not job seekers.
Q: Is the threat to the Constitution real?
Milind Kamble: No one can touch the Indian Constitution. I don’t want to talk about politics. Since that is not my forte, my focus is on economic empowerment of SC/STs. Through the DICCI, we work collectively to achieve that goal.
Q: After attending the Davos conclave, what course corrections would you suggest at the DICCI?
Milind Kamble: When DICCI was created in 2005, it believed that young people who were willing to venture into businesses, big or small, should have access to a forum that could guide them properly. With our knowledge and experience, we provide direction and access to financial institutions to absorb capital, funds, etc. We support and guide promising entrepreneurs belonging to backward communities to their destinations.
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Q: Does the government support it?
Milind Kamble: We are working closely with both the Center and state governments. We had written our model, which they incorporated into their economic policies. There are 11 crore young SC/ST entrepreneurs availing institutional support and DICCI support. Startup India and Stand-up India programs are gaining wider acceptance and helping SC/ST entrepreneurs. The reforms in public procurement policy for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) were a step forward. As per the 2012 order, the central ministry/department/PSU has set an annual target of 25 per cent of procurement coming from the MSME sector, reserving 4 per cent for SC/ST-owned MSMEs and 3 per cent for women entrepreneurs. This was voluntary – from 2012 to 2015, but was made mandatory in April 2015. This preferential policy facilitates annual procurement of around Rs 6,000-7,000 crore from SC/ST companies. In the past, procurement stagnated below Rs 100 crore.
Q: There are questions about how much of this applies.
Milind Kamble: To maximize policy benefits, sustained effort is required. Therefore, we must continue pursuing it. But it has certainly helped SC/ST entrepreneurs. The statistics are revealing. SC/ST MSME procurement has seen a visible rise, from Rs 824 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 1,070 crore in 2021-22, Rs 1,546.86 crore in 2022-23, Rs 1,649.83 crore in 2023-24 and reaching Rs 3,561.49 crore in 2024-25. More than 56,000 SC/ST entrepreneurs have registered on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.
With access to capital, SC/ST entrepreneurs have access to funding of Rs 50,000 to Rs 15 crore under various schemes, which fuel their entrepreneurial drive. Take the example of Mudra Yojana, which offers between Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh without collateral. It has helped 45 crore SC/STs. Similarly, under the Stand-Up India scheme, 70,000 SC/ST youth have benefited.
We also work closely with the National SC/ST Centre, under the Ministry of MSMEs, to help professional SC/ST entrepreneurs. Fifteen business facilitation centers (BFCs) have been set up across the country to help vendors, PSUs, etc.