Social Inclusion at Indian Small and Medium Enterprises

Vettriselvan Rajasekaran, Gandhigram Rural Institute

Indian society is characterized by high degree of structural inequality based upon the organization of people into caste and ethnic groups. Social exclusion between caste groups is ensured through the practices of endogamy and social separation. The untouchables known as the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs)located in bottom of the caste hierarchy, are suffered the most and lived under below poverty line. Manual labor and some occupations that were considered impure and polluting, the erstwhile untouchables were denied the right to do business or own property and equal treatment and status. It aimed to analyze the role of SMEs to eliminate the social exclusion in the job market. It concludes that SMEs play a vital in employment generation, promotion and equal pay to the dalits. Practicing the equal treatment and pay, employment and promotion practices in the entire sector will enrich the socio-economic status of the deprived people.