A Special Vendor Development Programme (SVDP) for SC/ST Entrepreneurs was conducted by NSIC (Cochin )in association with Dalit Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DICCI) ,Kerala Chapter & Central PSUs - Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (Kochi Refinery), HLL Life Care Ltd (HLL) , Thiruvananthapuram, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre(VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram & Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram on 25th October 2017, at Thiruvananthapuram.Shri P.Udayakumar, Director (Planning & Marketing), NSIC was the Chief Guest for this program. During his inaugural address ,Shri P. Udayakumar highlighted the role played by the National SC -ST Hub and the schemes which has been designed by NSIC to benefit SC/ST Entrepreneurs . The Public Procurement Policy 2012 and the benefits being granted to SC/ST Entrepreneurs therein were also highlighted upon and he urged the entrepreneurs to avail of the various schemes formulated upon for the benefit of MSMEs. The Central PSUs were also encouraged to avail this opportunity and register maximum entrepreneurs belonging to SC/ST category as their vendors and offered DICCI, Central PSUs and the SC/ST entrepreneurs all the support from NSIC in this regard. Also present on this occasion were Shri .P.Ravikumar,Zonal Head ( South -1), Shri Jeo John Chalakkal ,Branch Head, NSIC (Cochin)NSIC ,Padmashree Ravi Kumar Narra , President –DICCI South India & ,Shri Raja Nayak, Co-ordinator, DICCI South India .The representatives of various CPSEs , highlighted the procurement procedures , vendor selection norms and the nature of products & services which various CPSEs procure from Micro & Small Enterprises. <p align="right"> <font color="#A9A9A9" align="right">Nov. 1, 2017 </font></p>