By IANS,
New Delhi : The Prime Minister’s Office Monday asked the industry chambers to prepare a voluntary, five-year affirmative action plan to help uplift weaker sections of society.
A coordination committee meeting on affirmative action between the PMO and three leading industry chambers — FICCI, CII and Assocham — reviewed the progress made in the voluntary code of conduct (VCC) and skill development programmes adopted by the private sector.
“It was suggested that each industry chamber could work out a five-year vision voluntarily which could guide the annual action plans. This would give an idea of the long-term path and where they aim to be,” the PMO said in a statement.
The industry was also asked to focus on certain geographical areas and the 27 districts identified as having 47 percent population of SCs/Sts as per the 2011 census be adopted by the industry associations.
The meeting decided that the department of industrial policy and promotion (DIIP) would set up a system to collect quarterly data from the three chambers and build a database on affirmative action for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
The statement further said that there was a broad consensus that the scope of VCC activities be ramped to see a visible impact and recognition of ongoing efforts.
Other stakeholders like representatives of government department, social justice and empowerment and tribal affairs also attended the meeting.