An Entrepreneur in Modern India

The title is introduction enough.

Who is an  En`tre`pre`neur´ ? The Webster Dictionary says that one who takes the initiative to create a product to establish a business for profit: generally, whoever undertakes on his own account an enterprise in which others are employed and risks are taken.

Your question -Why the hell did she choose this topic out of the blue?

My answer - Err.. nevermind... ;)

India has churned out some of the best Entrepreneurs of our time.

I have listed down a few eminent ones below with their approximate years of establishment in parenthesis.

ü  Brijmohan Lall Munjal (1923- ), founder of The Hero Group, which owns Hero Motors(1956)

ü  Dhirubhai Ambani (1933–2002), founder of Reliance Industries(1966)

ü  Ghanshyam Das Birla (1894–1983),Birla family(1947- Starts off with Grasim weaving plant)

ü  J.R.D. Tata, founder of Air India and Chairman of the Tata Group for 52 years.(1946)

ü  J. C. Mahindra, co-founder of the Mahindra Group(1945)

ü  Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (1953- ), founder of Biocon, the first biotechnology company in India(1978)

ü  N. R. Narayana Murthy (1946- ), co-founder of Infosys Technologies(1981)

ü  Sabeer Bhatia (1968- ), co-founder of Hotmail(1996)

ü  T. V. Sundaram Iyengar (1877–1955), founder of the TVS Group(1911 :))

ü  Kasturbhai Lalbhai (1894–1980), textile baron, founder of Arvind Mills(1931)

ü  and many more.

Do you observe a pattern here? Well most of these pioneers came up with their ventures in the post-independence era except for a few like Biocon, Infosys and Hotmail. NOM. :P. Very few have come up in the recent past (2000s) and have survived to make a mark in the Global Market. What crosses my mind is that there could be a dearth of free-thinkers in the society. Are people these days scared to reject authority and dogma?  There might as well be some other reason. The Economic Times reported recently that there is a shortage of skilled workforce which is why the mushrooming Entrepreneurs are not exploiting the benefits of Globalization.

The Indian Society traditionally has been divided into four castes: The scholarly priests, the warriors, the traders and the people doing lowly jobs. Today the Indian Society is by and large divided into three categories :

1.The well-established business families, such as the Mittals, Tatas, Ambanis, Birlas and the like. Most of these companies have a strong management team, and are now going global. World trust in the Indian corporate sector is increasing like never before because of them.

2.The young graduates. With information technology and multinational corporations on the rise in India, these youngsters serve as the backbone of many flourishing enterprises. In fact they constitute of the rolling workforce. The problem with them is that, they like ducking underneath a domineering boss and are happy being followers all life long.

3.The small business entrepreneurs. You will find them in every big city, town, or village in India. They rely on sheer entrepreneurship ability that include training, experience, customer service skills, networking, hard work, and innovation. The only drawback with them is that they do not pay much heed to a formal education. 

But when a person from Category 2 ultimately makes up his 'entrepreneurial' mind, builds up some courage finally, and approaches a bank to get some finance sanctioned, all his/her pleas go unheard. Most of the Small Business Loans get denied even if a proper business plan is provided. Sadly, there is ample willingness to invest capital in a well-established enterprise but there is little willingness to fund start-ups. 

Moreover the brand monopoly by Category 1 type businesses is actually shunting the chances of smaller business ventures to make it large.

Mera Bharat Mahan!?!

Jai Hind anyway :/