India and Its Journey Towards Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is very important for a developing country like India. Entrepreneurs are seen as risk lovers who use their innovative techniques and thus are seen as engines for economic growth and development. Over the past few years, various efforts have been taken by the Government of India to make our country a hub for entrepreneurs. India is known for notable entrepreneurs like Anand Mahindra, Azim Premji, Cyrus Poonawalla, Ekta Kapoor, Anil Ambani, etc. Covid-19 and rapid digitalization have given a major boost to entrepreneurship in India. Right from clothing to food, today many people have started their own start-ups. According to data from The World Bank, India ranks among the top 3 countries for innovation and entrepreneurs. Compared to other countries process of entrepreneurship and innovation is slow in India. It was in 2020 when India entered among the top 50 innovative countries. In order to encourage research and development, innovation Government has been giving various tax incentives. The gross expenditure spent by the government of India is three times higher compared to various developed countries. According to the Indian Economic Survey 2020, the business sector's contribution toward research and innovation is second-lowest among the top 10 countries. India is seen as an attractive destination for research and development. Indian residents register a decline in patents filed in the country as compared to other countries.

Historically India was a patriarchal society, it was men who normally started their business and women were expected to do household chores. Especially after Globalization, due to the increase in education today, there is an increase among women entrepreneurs. If women are empowered, it can lead to major economic development. The economic empowerment of women is important for sustainable development, pro-poor growth and achievement of all millennium development goals. Right from clothing to entertainment in all industries, today women have been active participants. In order to encourage women to begin their start-ups, Microfinance institutions were established. These are formal institutions that aim to help people who are poor and vulnerable to start their own businesses and hence improve their standard of living. NABARD in association with the Department of Financial Services, the Ministry of finance and the government of India have introduced various schemes for the promotion of women's self-help groups in India.

Entrepreneurship has major advantages, it offers a flexible working environment, provides multiple employment opportunities, increases competition and thus boosts productivity. The government has started various policies like giving training for entrepreneurship, tax credits, etc yet the growth wasn’t as expected due to certain laws and regulations, strict labour laws, etc. A major change was witnessed under the current Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. To encourage start-ups, various policies and programs like Startup India Stand-up India 2016, Atal Incubation Centre (AIC) started by NITI Aayog in 2016, granted funds up to 10 crores to selected start-ups. The Swarojgar Credit Card helped in giving financial assistance to small artisans, handloom weavers, rickshaw owners, etc. Under this scheme, the person was given a credit card along with a passbook for working capital requirements. Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan was started to make India self-reliant in all fields by rolling out Rs 20 lakh crores to empower the poor, labourers and migrants who were severely impacted by Covid-19. It focused on the five pillars namely Economy, Infrastructure, Systems, Demography and Demand. Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana started to give loans up to 10 lakhs without collateral. The scheme was divided into 3 subgroups namely Shishu, Kishor and Tarun.

While Covid-19 led to economic disruptions worldwide, at the same time it gave an opportunity for developing countries like India to become self-reliant. According to a report by India Venture Capital 2021, we got venture capital investments worth nearly 10 billion dollars which was the highest after 2019. Six Indian startups have beat the pandemic to become unicorns namely Razorpay, Pine Labs, Zerodha, Postman, Unacademy and Nykaa. The Pandemic has given a boost to health and pharmaceutical countries, making India the leading vaccine exporter globally today. The Top four Major start-up cities in India include Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

In order to encourage entrepreneurship and make India a global hub for entrepreneurs more policies, funding and proper infrastructure are still required. Entrepreneurship is relevant for both profit and nonprofit ventures. Policies should focus on backward districts and regions. Women entrepreneurship has been recognized as an essential source of economic growth. Women entrepreneurs can create new jobs for themselves as well as others. When a woman starts working it creates a positive environment in the society and indirectly it will lead to an increase in the education of the girl-child. Programs like Kutumbashree and SEWA have led to women empowerment hence more policies should be designed that focus on women entrepreneurs. India’s business sector should ramp up investments in research and development, focusing on improving its performance in institutions and business sophistication.