India is not only a country with rich natural resources, but also rich in its base of professional individuals. Today India has the strongest base of engineers compared to any other country. But still, India is considered a follower of USA in terms of science and technology. The reason is not that USA has better scientists than India. The NASA largely relies on Indian brains. IITs are considered to have the brightest minds. Microsoft’s major chunk consists of Indians. Then why is India still behind?
The Question is not difficult to answer. We can see that all the best brains of the country do not stay long in India. They migrate to developed countries seeking better remuneration, better living standards and better facilities. These people fly to US simply because the US has more opportunities.
So what can we do to stop or restrict the self ruining ‘Brain Drain’? The answer lies in promoting Entrepreneurship. So we can now understand that US is not a better country because they have better resources or anything else, US is better because they have more entrepreneurs than managers. Entrepreneurs make things happen. Entrepreneurs are the people who translate Ideas into Reality. They work for the betterment of the system and the country on the whole. The Business entrepreneurs work to bring in new Business ideas and Social Entrepreneurs on other side identify a social problem, apply entrepreneurial principles to solve it and bring Social Change.
Let’s focus on the basic problem and see how Entrepreneurs can solve it. India has a major chunk of poor people; it is still battling with the problem of poverty as it did 50 years ago. Success of Chandrayan or increase in world trade share hasn’t alleviated the Poverty in the country. What is the reason for Poverty? Simple answer, it is because of lack of jobs and education. Unless the unemployment rate comes down the country wouldn’t grow in a holistic way. So, to grow we have to employ the unemployed.
According to NASSCOM India needed to create 10 million jobs if it were to become a developed country by 2010. It is 2010, and as it has happened all the time- India is yet not counted as a part of the developed nations. Indian government is not to be blamed here, as the target of 10 million was way too big in the times when the whole world was in the pain of recession trauma.
So coming to solution, how can we create these many jobs? Can the armed forces do something? They cannot absorb such a large amount. The world’s largest commercial employer, The Indian Railways is also too small to reach the target all alone. Nor the Government itself can create such a huge number of jobs. Private sector does not involve itself in employing as much as they can, but the rate of expansion of industrial set up is not that good so as to employ such a huge pool.
Therefore, the one possible solution to this grave problem is promoting entrepreneurship. Imagine, if one individual opens an enterprise and employs 30 people, likewise if more and more entrepreneurs start this way, the target will not be too big to achieve. Imagine in a billion people, if few more Narayan Murthys come up. The unemployment rate will never rise if the brilliant brains of the country never leave the country and instead start their own ventures here and employ people.
The change has begun, but it has to continue. It has to be bigger. There are people of different kind, some educated, some uneducated. Entrepreneurs can create jobs for both. In 2000, the IIM A pass out Sarath Babu, refused lucrative job offers to start his own catering business. He feels that he is giving back to the country by employing the uneducated to do the most important task of his business i.e. to cook.
Sanitation in rural areas is very pathetic, but in urban areas it was no different. More than 50% people in Indian cities pass urine in open. Rajeev Kher an MBA graduate from Symbiosis University did not find it good. He felt there is need for mobile toilets for people, to use when they are outside. He started his enterprise and now he has been successful in installing over 1000 such mobile toilets across India. This is one of the perfect example of social entrepreneurship that shows how the Idea, though not very great, has worked for a greater cause.
Hence, India can be a developed nation only when young people become Job makers and not mere Job seekers. In the process of encouraging the Entrepreneurial spirit, IIM Ahmedabad has allowed its 2nd year students to opt out of the placements and start their own ventures and in any case if the ventures fail, the students will be given a chance to sit for the placements in the next year. This is good news to us that reputed institutes like IIMs and other B-schools give importance to entrepreneurship.
So, the message is very clear — Entrepreneurs hold the key for country’s growth. We need more and more of them. Therefore, the Government must realize this fact and structure its policies such that it gives freedom and support to the spirit of Entrepreneurship.
So are you ready for it? Drop in a comment below or mail us at info@youthkiawaaz.com, you can also tweet us at @YouthKiAwaaz.
The writer is a correspondent at Youth Ki Awaaz
image: http://501cweb.wordpress.com/2009/01/26/7-steps-on-the-path-of-a-life-entrepreneur/
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