India: A start-up-friendly nation for youth 

Gone are the days when educated youth were targeting only salaried jobs for a peaceful and stable life. With the onset of globalisation, entrepreneurship has opened new opportunities, which have seen further momentum with the advent of cutting-edge technologies.  

Entrepreneurship is not a new passion for many as they have family roots, but a typical Indian family remained hesitant about starting a business enterprise. Marwaris, Gujaratis and Punjabis are among a few who are known for their business skills and risk acumen. 

Entrepreneurship for nation-building

As we know, the social environment also plays a crucial role in the growth of entrepreneurship vis-a-vis the positive political and technological environments. Families are now supporting first-generation entrepreneurs, and individuals from various walks of life are coming up with innovative ideas to start their own start-ups. Today, after graduating and post-graduating from premier institutions like IITs, IIMs and others, many individuals start their own business enterprises confidently. 

Entrepreneurship is essential to solving many social problems like unemployment, substandard products, overpricing, monopoly etc. It also contributes to nation-building. On one hand, entrepreneurship provides an excellent opportunity for growth, and on the other hand, entrepreneurs remain independent. Many young people have joined this field to convert their passion into a profession or to contribute to socio-economic development. 

An entrepreneur is an individual who is ambitious, knowledgeable, risk taker, leader, innovator, hard worker, and passionate. Such individuals have the zeal to achieve and contribute back to society. In the twenty-first century, there is an encouraging scenario for business enthusiasts to become entrepreneurs.  

Government interventions and growth potential

Despite a significant presence of Indians in the world economy, the western world came with innovative technologies, ideas and products and dominated world trade. Central and state governments in India implemented various policies to create more and more opportunities for Indian innovators and entrepreneurs. Various schemes such as MSME RuPay Credit Card, Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), Multiplier Grants Scheme (MGS), Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Entreprises (CGTMSE), Software Technology Park (STP) were introduced in this regard. The Venture Capital Assistance Scheme (VCA) are playing a significant role in entrepreneurship development.  

As a result, from about 750 recognised start-ups in 2016, we have over 60,000 start-ups in the year 2021. Department for the Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) is optimistic about creating 2 million jobs in the coming years through these start-ups.  

Along with all traditional areas, sectors like tourism, automobile (especially EV), textiles, social ventures, software, engineering goods, retail, healthcare, fitness, education and training etc., have enormous potential in Tier-II and Tier-III cities. In 2020, the travel & tourism contributed USD 121.9 billion to the GDP with an annual growth rate of 10.35%. This sector accounted for 8% of total jobs in India (about 39 million jobs). The Auto & Auto Component industry contributes around 7% to the country’s GDP and is expected to grow 12%, as per the Automotive Mission Plan 2016-26. Accordingly, the electric vehicles industry is likely to create five crore jobs by 2030. 

Similarly, in textile, almost four crore people are employed across the textile industry across the country, and the current size of the industry is INR 10 lakh crore. The sector has potential to grow to INR 20 lakh crore in the coming five years.   

Courses to build future entrepreneurs 

Several universities and institutes have started programmes in entrepreneurship to shape the future of budding entrepreneurs. Master of Business Administration (MBA) is the most coveted programme that help candidates gain all the business and management skills to realise their entrepreneurship dreams. Even though most MBA programmes include some elements of entrepreneurship in the curriculum, entrepreneurship is now an independent specialisation.