India is seen as a land of ideas and this must be turned into a land of opportunities, said D. Purandeswari, Minister of State for Commerce and Industries.
Giving away the CII-Business Line Emerging Entrepreneur Award for 2012 to seven entrepreneurs, she said the significance of entrepreneurship as a catalyst for growth in the country’s economy is invaluable. Small enterprises have to be nurtured and provided and opportunity to get bigger.
Quoting the Planning Commission, she said: “If we have to create 10 crore jobs over the next 10 years, encouragement of entrepreneurship and self-employment is vital to meeting such goals.”
Seeking more Government support and encouragement for small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs, CII President Adi Godrej said this can be done by creating an environment conducive for their growth, giving access to funds, and working towards cluster development.
Speaking at CII Southern Region Annual Conference, Godrej said a number of suggestions have been made to the Government to accelerate the growth.
These include extending access to finance, bridging funding gaps, and making initial public offer norms flexible for their entry, and creating a Climate Tech Fund to encourage companies go green.
Praising today’s youth who are self-driven, G. V. Sanjay Reddy, Chairman, CII (Southern region), said the spirit of entrepreneurship is vibrant in the South.
“If India is keen to create 10-15 million jobs a year over the next 15 years, there is a need to create the environment for youth to take to entrepreneurship and then scale up.”
Four hundred entrepreneurs had participated in the CII-Business Line Emerging Entrepreneur Award for 2012.