Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday announced that Scheduled Caste (SC) employees working for the state government will get reservation in promotions. He said a quota will be fixed within three months after identifying all such cadre.

Khattar was speaking at a state-level function organised in Narwana, Jind district, for the 646th birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas. Families belonging to Scheduled Castes who wish to set up small and micro industries will now get 20 per cent discount on purchase of land, the chief minister also said. Till now, such families were given 10 per cent discount for the same.

The chief minister further announced that a medical college to be built in Rasulpur village of Fatehabad district would be named after Guru Ravidas.?Besides this, a chair will be established in Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, in the name of Guru Ravidas for conduct of research on his ideas and teachings, he said.

Khattar said land has been identified to build a memorial in Guru Ravidas' name near Pipli, Kurukshetra. A hostel and a school will also be built, he added. People of the SC community will also get an additional interest subvention of 20 per cent on loans taken for business purposes, the chief minister said.

A venture capital fund will be created to provide financial assistance on behalf of the state government so as to promote self-employment and entrepreneurship opportunities to the youth belonging to Scheduled Castes, he said. Free coaching will be provided to children belonging to Scheduled Caste communities to pursue higher education and prepare them for competitive exams, Khattar announced.

"So far, 55,000 families have been given houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in Haryana. Now, the state government is conducting surveys of families with annual incomes of up to Rs 1.80 lakh. Complete assistance will be given to all such families to construct houses," he said.