Naga entrepreneurs urged to leverage Public Procurement Policy at Dimapur event

DIMAPUR — The Business Association of Nagas (BAN), in collaboration with the Ministry of MSME Development and Facilitation Office (DFO), Dimapur, organised a vendor development programme (VDP) on October 6 at Hotel Lake Shilloi in Dimapur to promote economic growth and empower local entrepreneurs.

According to a press release, the participants in the programme included business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs interested in learning how to directly market their products and services to central public sector undertakings (CPSUs) and other central government organisations.

The primary goal of the VDP was to provide local entrepreneurs with a thorough understanding of the Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises Order, 2012.

The policy requires that each central government agency set aside 20% of their annual procurement for medium and small businesses, with 4% set aside specifically for businesses owned by SC/ST entrepreneurs.

Selwin Samraj, assistant director (mech) at the MSME DFO, provided useful advice on how entrepreneurs can easily register their businesses on online procurement portals such as the government e-marketplace (GeM).

Representatives from several CPSUs and central government agencies also shared their experiences with public procurement policy compliance during the event.

They discussed the challenges of meeting the targeted procurement from SC/ST entrepreneurs, emphasising the importance of local entrepreneurs registering on the portal. These organisations also revealed their procurement requirements for the coming year and encouraged local entrepreneurs to rise to the occasion.

In his speech, Taliwati Longchar, IEDS joint director and head, MSME (DFO), urged Naga entrepreneurs to become more aware of the public procurement policy and take advantage of the facilities and benefits it provides.

Government agencies such as Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, Food Corporation of India, National Institute of Technology, Nagaland, three battalions of the Central Reserve Police Force, Airports Authority of India, the CGST Commissionerate, and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research were present at the programme.