Mangaluru: Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) organized a Special vendor development program exclusively for SC/ST vendors on 7th March 2018 in association with MSME DI at Mangaluru. More than 40 SC/ST entrepreneurs from all over Karnataka participated in the programme.

Shri. Gokuldas Nayak, Joint Director, DIC, D.K. District, Shri. Ajith Kamath Vice President, KSIA, Mangaluru, Shri. Socrates, Dy Director, MSME-DI, Mangaluru, Shri. G Nagaraj, Asst. Director – MSME, Shri Pankaj Agarwal, GGM(Materials), MRPL were the distinguished dignitaries who graced the occasion along with other senior officers from MRPL.

Shri. Gokuldas Nayak, Joint Director, DIC, lauded the efforts made by MRPL and also mentioned that MRPL being a major PSU has contributed to the growth and prosperity of Mangalore region by generating a large secondary workforce of suppliers and contractors.

Shri. Socrates, Dy Director, MSME-DI, spoke on the initiatives taken by MRPL and advised the participants to make use of the benefits available to Micro & Small Enterprises in public procurement.

Shri Udaykumar Bhat, Asst Director, MSME-DI, Mangalore spoke about the MSMED Act 2006 and explained in detail the benefits of Public Procurement Policy, 2012. Shri. Ajith Kamath Vice President, Kanara Small Industries Association spoke on how the special category vendors could partner and become competitive entrepreneurs.

Senior officers from MRPL Materials department explained the opportunities available in PSUs like MRPL and the need for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and especially from the special categories to participate in tenders of the company.

A live demonstration was made on how the vendors can utilise the MRPL Web Portal to participate and submit bids in E-tenders. It was also explained how vendors can register online with GeM portal to display their products and services.

This was followed by a very interactive open session. Many of the vendors sought details / clarifications on facilities / advantages available to MSME – SC/ST vendors and were apprised of the same.