Entrepreneurship Development: Concept and Context
Many developing countries including India are in a state of transition. They are striving to move from a subsistence-oriented, tightly integrated, inward looking local economy to a surplus seeking, market led, outward looking economy. Such a move is possible only with the emergences of a multitude of a small-scale and rural enterprise in all works of life. This requires building up of a wider base of population capable of entrepreneurial behaviour. If we take India as an example in the context of development, we find that the initial build up of entrepreneurial activity took place in urban center. This was followed by a trickle down effect in rural communities over time. Development strategy today, however, seeks a more proactive and immediate change in India. While much of policy making in this regard treats enterprise creation as a function of appropriate economic conditions(made possible through institutional and economic interventions), others have emphasized training and attitude change as vital elements in the process. But it needs systematic observations and research into the process through which entrepreneurship emerges and sustains itself.
Keeping in view the contribution of small business to employment generation,
balanced regional development of the country, and promotion of exports, the
Government of India’s policy thrust has been on establishing, promoting and
developing the small business sector, particularly the rural industries and the
cottage and village industries in backward areas. Governments both at the
central and state level have been actively participating in promoting
selfemployment opportunities in rural areas by providing assistance in respect
of infrastructure, finance, technology, training, raw-materials, and marketing.
The various policies and schemes of Government assistance for the development of
rural industries insist on the utilisation of local resources and raw materials
and locally available manpower. These are translated into action through various
agencies, departments, corporations, etc., all coming under the purview of the
industries department. All these are primarily concerned with the promotion of
small and rural industries.
Some of the support measures and programmes meant for the promotion of small and
rural industries are discussed below:
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)
NABARD was setup in 1982 to promote integrated rural development. Since then, it
has been adopting a multi-pronged, multi-purpose strategy for the promotion of
rural business enterprises in the country. Apart from agriculture, it supports
small industries, cottage and village industries, and rural artisans using
credit and non-credit approaches. It offers counselling and consultancy services
and organises training and development programmes for rural entrepreneurs.
The Rural Small Business Development Centre (RSBDC)
It is the first of its kind set up by the world association for small and medium
enterprises and is sponsored by NABARD. It works for the benefit of socially and
economically disadvantaged individuals and groups. It aims at providing
management and technical support to current and prospective micro and small
entrepreneurs in rural areas. Since its inception, RSBDC has organised several
programmes on rural entrepreneurship, skill upgradation workshops, mobile
clinics and trainers training programmes, awareness and counselling camps in
various villages of Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad. Through these programmes
it covers a large number of rural unemployed youth and women in several trades,
which includes food processing, soft toys making, ready-made garments, candle
making, incense stick making, two-wheeler repairing and servicing,
vermicomposting, and non conventional building materials.
National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC)
This was set up in1955 with a view to promote, aid and foster the growth of
small business units in the country. This focuses on the commercial aspects of
these functions.
1.Supply indigenous and imported machines on easy hire-purchase terms.
2.Procure, supply and distribute indigenous and imported raw materials.
3.Export the products of small business units and develop export-worthiness.
4.Mentoring and advisory services. • Serve as technology business incubators.
5.Creating awareness on technological upgradation.
6.Developing software technology parks and technology transfer centres.
A new scheme of ‘performance and credit rating’ of small businesses is
implemented through National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) with the twin
objectives of (i) sensitising the small industries about the need for credit
rating and (ii) encouraging the small business units to maintain good financial
track record. This is to ensure that they score higher rating for their credit
requirements as and when they approach the financial institutions for their
working capital and investment requirements.
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
1.Set up as an apex bank to provide direct/indirect financial assistance under
different schemes, to meet credit needs of small business organisations.
2.To coordinate the functions of other institutions in similar activities
The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS)
The NCEUS was constituted in September, 2004, with the following objectives:
1.To recommend measures considered necessary for improving the productivity of
small enterprises in the informal sector.
2.To generate more employment opportunities on a sustainable basis, particularly
in the rural areas.
3.To enhance the competitiveness of the sector in the emerging global
environment.
4.To develop linkages of the sector with other institutions in the areas of
credit, raw materials, infrastructure, technology upgradation, marketing and
formulation of suitable arrangements for skill development. The commission has
identified the following issues for detailed consideration:
5.Growth poles for the informal sector in the form of clusters/ hubs, in order
to get external economic aid.
6.Potential for public-private partnerships in imparting the skills required
by the informal sector.
7.Provision of micro-finance and related services to the informal sector.
8.Providing social security for the workers in the informal sector.
Rural and Women Entrepreneurship Development (RWED)
The Rural and Women Entrepreneurship Development programme aims at promoting a
conducive business environment and at building institutional and human
capacities that will encourage and support the entrepreneurial initiatives of
rural people and women. RWE provides the following services:
1.Creating a business environment that encourages initiatives of rural and women
entrepreneurs.
2.Enhancing the human and institutional capacities required to foster
entrepreneurial dynamism and enhance productivity.
3.Providing training manuals for women entrepreneurs and training them.
4.Rendering any other advisory services.
World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME)
It is the only International NonGovernmental Organisation of micro, small and
medium enterprises based in India, which set up an International Committee for
Rural Industrialisation. Its aim is to develop an action plan model for
sustained growth of rural enterprises.
Apart from these, there are several schemes to promote the non-farm sector,
mostly initiated by the Government of India. For instance, there are schemes for
entrepreneurship through subsidised loans like Integrated Rural Development
Programme (IRDP), Prime Minister Rojgar Yojana (PMRY), schemes to provide skills
like Training of Rural Youth for Self Employment (TRYSEM), and schemes to
strengthen the gender component like Development of Women and Children in Rural
Areas (DWCRA).
There are schemes to provide wage employment like Jawahar Rojgar Yojana (JRY),
food for work etc., on rural works programmes to achieve the twin objectives of
creation of rural infrastructure and generation of additional income for the
rural poor, particularly during the lean agricultural season. Last, but not the
least, there are schemes for specific groups of industries such as khadi,
handlooms and handicrafts.
Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI)
To make the traditional industries more productive and competitive and to
facilitate their sustainable development, the Central Government set up this
fund with Rs. 100 crores allocation to begin within the year 2005. This has to
be implemented by the Ministry of Agro and Rural Industries in collaboration
with State Governments. The main objectives of the scheme are as follows:
1.To develop clusters of traditional industries in various parts of the country;
2.To build innovative and traditional skills, improve technologies and encourage
public-private partnerships, develop market intelligence etc., to make them
competitive, profitable and sustainable; and
3.To create sustained employment opportunities in traditional industries.
The District Industries Centers (DICs)
The District Industries Centers Programme was launched on May 1, 1978, with a
view to providing an integrated administrative framework at the district level,
which would look at the problems of industrialisation in the district, in a
composite manner. In other words District Industries Centers is the institution
at the district level which provides all the services and support facilities to
the entrepreneurs for setting up small and village industries.
Identification of suitable schemes, preparation of feasibility reports,
arranging for credit, machinery and equipment, provision of raw materials and
other extension services are the main activities undertaken by these centers.
Broadly DICs are trying to bring change in the attitude of the rural
entrepreneurs and all other connected with economic development in the rural
areas. Even within the narrow spectrum, an attempt is being made to look at some
of the neglected factors such as the rural artisan, the skilled craftsman and
the handloom operator and to tune up these activities with the general process
of rural development being taken up through other national programmes. The DIC
is thus emerging as the focal point for economic and industrial growth at the
district level.
