National SC-ST Hub: how the MSME Ministry backs SC/ST entrepreneurs
Why in news: Public procurement from SC/ST-owned MSEs reached ₹4,013.42 crore in 2025-26, up from ₹99.37 crore in 2015-16, the government said on 8 October 2026.
The National SC-ST Hub is a Ministry of MSME scheme, run by the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) since October 2016, that helps enterprises owned by Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs win government orders through training, subsidies and reimbursements. Public procurement from such firms rose from ₹99.37 crore in 2015-16 to ₹4,013.42 crore in 2025-26, the government said.
Syllabus: GS3 · Inclusive Growth; Prelims · Economy & Social Development; GS3 · Liberalisation & Industry
In short
The National SC-ST Hub, a Ministry of MSME scheme run by NSIC since October 2016, helps SC/ST-owned enterprises win the 4% of central procurement earmarked for them.
The Hub has widened SC/ST firms' access to public orders; its test is whether every buyer meets the 4% share and firms win open tenders.
Why it matters
Take a first-generation entrepreneur from a Scheduled Caste running a small welding or catering unit. A public-sector tender asks for a deposit, certificates and a bank guarantee, each a cost that can wipe out a thin margin. The Hub waives or refunds much of that, and the 4% sub-target gives government buyers a reason to look for such suppliers. Orders that do arrive mean wages and local jobs in communities long kept away from capital and markets. The larger question is whether public purchasing power can widen economic mobility, which depends on Ministries and CPSEs meeting the 4% share every year.
Prelims pointers
- National SC-ST Hub: Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises scheme; implementing agency NSIC; launched October 2016.
- NSIC: National Small Industries Corporation Ltd, set up in 1955 and now a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of MSME; it runs the Single Point Registration Scheme.
- Public Procurement Policy for MSEs Order, 2012: notified under the MSMED Act, 2006; it binds Central Ministries, Departments and CPSEs, not State governments.
- The 4% (SC/ST) and 3% (women) sub-targets lie within the 25% MSE target; if SC/ST-owned MSEs fail to qualify, other MSEs may fill the 4%.
- SC/ST-owned MSE: an SC/ST proprietor; or SC/ST partners holding at least 51% of a partnership; or SC/ST promoters holding at least 51% of a private company.
- Udyam Registration, which replaced Udyog Aadhaar from 1 July 2020, is required for the Hub's marketing support and for procurement benefits.
- GeM (Government e-Marketplace) is under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; TRIFED, which runs Tribes India, is under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
- Stand-Up India Scheme (2016, Ministry of Finance): bank loans of ₹10 lakh to ₹1 crore for greenfield enterprises of SC/ST and women entrepreneurs.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to the National SC-ST Hub, consider the following statements:
1. It is a scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
2. It is implemented through the National Small Industries Corporation of the Government of India.
3. It helps enterprises owned by SC/ST entrepreneurs take part in public procurement.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer
Answer: (b) 2 and 3 only
1 is incorrect: the Hub is a scheme of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. 2 is correct: the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), a Government of India enterprise under that Ministry, implements it. 3 is correct: its core aim is to help SC/ST-owned MSEs win government and CPSE orders under the procurement policy.
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