Abstract

Social entrepreneurship is recognized as a key tool for overcoming social problems in society and supporting sustainable development. Social Entrepreneurship gains the attention of policymakers across the world. The impact of government initiatives towards social enttrepreneurship depends on certain factors including the economic, cultural and societal conditions of different countries, therefore a comprehensive exploration is deemed necessary. The main aim of the research is intended in assessing the role of the government towards the promotion of social entrepreneurship in the country. The research is focused on addressing the level of awareness about the concept of social enterprise and what it means, especially among young students. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the impact of government policies and support programs on entrepreneurial activity and growth. The study is based on a systematic literature review design, where the data is collected from existing resources to obtain the findings. The results noted that when it came to social entrepreneurship, it is the government that acts as a vital role in communication what a social enterprise is and its role to the members of the society. However, the study also identifies that while the promotion of social enterprise is essential, the role of innovation and its link to the building elastic social enterprises needs more attention.

Keywords

Introduction

Aims and Objectives

This study aimed to explore the impact of government policies and support programs on entrepreneurial activity and growth. To achieve this aim, the following objectives were designed: 

• To identify the role of government policies in promoting entrepreneurship activity and growth
• To analyse the impact of government policies and support programs on entrepreneurial activity and growth 
• To evaluate the challenges in implementing government policies that support entrepreneurial  activity and growth

Research Design The study was based on a systematic literature review design, where the data was collected from existing resources i.e. research articles and studies to obtain relevant findings. A systematic  Literature review is an effective approach to identifying and analysing available literature and fulfilling the objective of the study (Xiao and Watson, 2019). A well-structured design was adopted to explore the impact of government policies and support programs on the activity and growth of  social entrepreneurship. The study design was based on the collection of data from selected databases. A well develop search strategy was used to obtain reliable and relevant data for the study. The study is also based on bibliometric analysis where the data from the selected research articles was statistically analysed to identify the relationship and impact between the variables (Wang and Ngai, 2020).This paper is designed to help and understand the role of a government for creating an entrepreneurial environment. It explores the idea and goals of the government policies that encourages entrepreneurial activities. It also highlights the importance of entrepreneurship and innovation and how the government is working together with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial organizations to support an entrepreneurial environment.

Role of govt. in promoting entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurship promotion and development Programmes are being organized regularly to nurture the talent of youth by enlightening them on various aspects of industrial/business activity required for setting up MSEs. These Programmes are conducted for youth and other people interested to set up their own industrial/self-employment venture. Such activities are also organized in ITIs, Polytechnics and other technical institutions/business schools, where skill/talent is available to motivate them towards self-employment.The government plays an important role in the development of social entrepreneurship. The central and state governments have set up a number of institutions to promote entrepreneurship. They are:

 i. Small Industries Development Organization ?   SIDO formulates policies for the development of small scale industries in the country. It provides support for promotion of rural entrepreneurship.

 ii. Management Development Institute ?   MDI conducts management development programs to improve managerial effectiveness in the industry.

 iii. Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India ?   EDI has helped to set up twelve state?level exclusive entrepreneurship development institutes and centres.

 iv. All India Small Scale Industries Board ?   AISSIB advises the Government on all issues related to the small scale sector. It determines the programmes and policies for the development of small scale industries.

v. National Institution of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development ?   NIESBUD supervises the activities of the different agencies involved in the entrepreneurial development programmes.

 vi. National Institute of Small Industries Extension Training ?   The objective of the institute is to direct and coordinate the syllabi for training of small entrepreneurs. It organizes seminars for small entrepreneurs and managers.

Schemes & Initiatives of Government through NSDC

1. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through National Skill Development Corporation has implemented Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)  with a target to cover 24 lakh youth in the country. The scheme is implemented with the objective to enable a large number of Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training that will help them in securing a better livelihood. Individuals with prior learning experience or skills were also assessed and certified under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) category.During its pilot phase, PMKVY trained 19.85 lakh candidates in 375 job roles. Under PMKVY 2015-16, it was not mandatory for National Skill Development Corporation’s (NSDC’s) training partners to report employment data. The employment data available reflects only a fraction of the actual employment provided under the scheme. Out of the total trained candidates, around 2.53 lakh candidates have been reported as placed. It was a reward based scheme, which provided entire cost of training as reward to successful candidates.Common Norms for uniformity and standardization of skill development ecosystem existing in the country was notified on 15th July, 2015. Based on the learnings of PMKVY 2015-16 and aligning it with Common Norms, the scheme has been revamped and the Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 13th July, 2016, has approved the new version with modification and continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) 2016-2020 as ‘Skill Development Component’ of umbrella PMKVY to skill 1 crore people over four years (2016-2020) with an outlay of Rs.12,000 crore.

PMKVY (2016-2020) is a grant-based scheme, providing free of cost skill development training and skill certification in over 252 job roles to increase the employability of the youth. The scheme was launched on 2nd October 2016 with the following objectives:

1. Provide fresh skill development training to school dropouts, college dropouts and unemployed youth through short term courses
2. Recognise the skill available of the current work force through skill certification
3. Engage States in the implementation of the scheme leading to capacity development of the states
4. Improved quality of training infrastructure along with alignment of training with the needs of the industry
5. Encourage standardization in the certification process and initiate a process of creating a registry of skills

2. Rozgar Mela

To give impetus to the employment initiatives in the country, National Skill Development Corporation under the aegis of Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Govt. of India has been organizing Rozgar Melas across the nation for providing suitable job opportunities to the unemployed youth. The Rozgar Mela is a major initiative taken by the Ministry to improve the placement rate of unemployed youth.With initiatives like the Rozgar Melas, the Government is ensuring a parallel growth in the private/ industrial sector. There is no end to the potential for industry to flourish across the States with big corporates partnering the government and pledging to invest.Rozgar Melas are a platform exclusively for the youth of the where Corporate India participates extensively and extends opportunities of employment to the deserving candidates. The unique format of the Rozgar Mela is providing the youth nationwide, the platform to learn about employment and entrepreneurship opportunities by directly connecting them with the corporates.

3. Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK)

Under Skill India Mission, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has initiated the establishment of state-of-the-art, visible and aspirational model training centers in every district of India, ensuring coverage of all the parliamentary constituencies. These model training centers are referred to as “Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra” (PMKK).PMKK is MSDE’s initiative towards creation of standardized infrastructure for delivery of skill development training which are equipped to run industry-driven courses of high quality with focus on employability and create an aspirational value for skill development training. PMKK envisions to transform the short-term training ecosystem from a mandate driven delivery model to a sustainable institutional model.The PMKK program provides financial support in form of a soft loan up to INR 70 lakhs to create training infrastructure and complements the delivery of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), the flagship skill development program of the Government at the district level.

4. Udaan

The Special lndustry Initiative (Sll) for J&K is funded by Ministry of Home Affairs and implemented by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). The program is a part of the overall initiative for addressing economic issues in J&K. Udaan program is a special initiative to address the needs of the educated unemployed in J&K. Udaan program is focused on youth of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) who are graduate, post graduate and three-year diploma engineers. The aim is to provide skills and job opportunities to the youth. Simultaneously, the aim is also to provide exposure to corporate India towards the rich talent pool available in J&K. The target was to reach out to 40,000 youth in J&K over a period of 6 years. The Udaan programme is designed to encourage corporates to travel to J&K meet with the youth and hire aspiring youth in J&K who wish to explore the opportunity to work with corporates. Udaan provides a framework of support to the youth to travel, undergo training in firms and transit to work.

Objectives of the Scheme

1. To provide exposure to the graduates and post graduates of Jammu and Kashmir to the best of the Corporates India
2. To provide Corporate India with exposure to the rich talent pool available in the state

Scheme Achievements

As on 31st December 2018, 44,402 candidates have joined training. Of these, 38,863 candidates have completed training and 19,767 have been offered jobs across different sectors. Over 100 corporates have been part of the program.Leading corporates across different sectors like TCS, Apollo Medskills, KPMG, Yes Bank, Frontline Business Solutions, Tata Motors, Future Learnings, Graziano, lL&FS, llSD, Spectrum, MBD, Rooman, Vision India etc. have taken part in 204 Udaan Mega selection drives. Udaan Mega Drives act as a platform where multiple corporate help mobilise youth of J&K for Udaan training program that are organize across the state in different districts.

5. India International Skill Centers (IISC)

Government of India is keen to bridge the global shortage of labour force in the coming years by reaping the demographic dividend of young Indian labour force. To meet this objective, Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship under the “Skill India” Mission has set up India International Skill Centre (IISC) to provide skill trainings and certification benchmarked to International Standards. In the pilot phase, IISCs were set up through the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and implemented the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY) for youth seeking global mobility for jobs. As part of IISC Program, both domain skill training on international standards and Pre-Departure Orientation Training (PDOT) are imparted to candidates.

Key focus areas of the IISC policy:

Assessment and Certification on international standards as per best practices and recognition in different countries.

• IISCs to have Career Guidance and Counseling centers within them vis-à-vis international training and employment and act as resource centres facilitating foreign employment support. The counselling centres would help students to understand the various overseas employment opportunities available and match their interest and talent with the most relevant opportunities.
• IISCs as per new policy are expected to provide only incremental skill training if found lacking in candidates.
• PDOT will be imparted to IISC candidates as sponsored by MEA under PKVY.

Key Achievements of the IISC Program

• 14 centres with 593 candidates enrolled and received domain training on international standards across 9 job roles in 8 sectors
• 459 candidates assessed, and 286 candidates certified on domain skills on international standards (62% passing percentage)
• 180 candidates placed (offline data)- 63 in overseas locations (35% of total placement), 117 in domestic locations (65% of total placement)
• In terms of overseas placement, candidates were placed in UAE (26% of candidates), Oman (60% of candidates), Qatar (8% of candidates), Singapore (6% of candidates)
• Out of the total enrolled candidates in IISC, 430 candidates received 160 hours of Pre Departure Orientation Training along with domain training on international standard

Some Other Recent Initiatives by the Government Are

1. Startup India:  through this initiative government is providing mentoring and nurturing to startups throughout their life cycle. Since its inception in 2016 it has nurtured numerous entrepreneurs.Some of the key features of the scheme are:

• Has set up research parks.
• Incubators and startup centers.
• Funds have been setup to provide finances.

All the above eco system elements have facilitated smooth functioning of different aspects of business like:

• Online recognition of startups.
• Startup India Learning Programme.
• Facilitated Patent filing.
• Easy Compliance and Relaxed Procurement Norms.
• Incubator support
• Innovation focused programmes for students.
• Tax benefits, etc.

2. Atal Innovation Mission (AIM):  AIM is the government’s initiative to provide a platform for entrepreneurial development. To inculcate entrepreneurial traits at early stages AICs (Atal Incubation Centers) are also being setup [33]. One bright example of government’s initiatives in the area of women entrepreneurship development is AIC setup at Banasthali Vidyapith, a leading university working for women education and development for more than eight decades. Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) is also being setup across India to foster curiosity and creativity right from school level [20].
3. Make in India:  The initiative was launched in 2014 to develop India as a design and manufacturing hub. Its aim was to modify outdated policies and pave way to strong manufacturing sector [21]. This strong eco system has fostered unprecedented growth of women entrepreneurs in the manufacturing sector [34].
4. Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women (STEP):  STEP was setup by Ministry of Women and Child Development to inculcate entrepreneurial skills to women, especially from rural areas. The programme encompasses several areas like- agriculture, horticulture, food processing, traditional crafts like embroidery, handlooms, travel and tourism, computer and IT services, hospitality, etc.
5. Stand-Up India:  The program was launched in 2015 to provide financial support to women, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe entrepreneurs to setup green field ventures in manufacturing, services or the trading sector.
6. Trade related Entrepreneurship Assistance and Development (TREAD):  TREAD provides credit facilities to underprivileged women through registered NGO support [22]. The scheme provides access to loan facilities, counseling and training opportunities to women entrepreneurs.

Major Challenges: Becoming an entrepreneur doesn’t always require a huge amount of money or knowledge about how to manage finances or marketing strategies.In fact, entrepreneurs often turn out to be quite resilient because they have had so much practice overcoming challenges of an entrepreneur and other obstacles faced by entrepreneurs as they work on their new ventures.

Entrepreneurship can be a tough career choice, particularly for social entrepreneurs, who face unique challenges.The challenges entrepreneurs face may include a lack of access to funding and support, as well as gender-based discrimination. On the other hand, social entrepreneurs face the challenge of balancing financial sustainability with social impact.

Despite these challenges, social entrepreneurs often exhibit remarkable resilience. They are used to overcoming obstacles and self-doubt as they work towards their goals. This resilience can be a critical factor in their success as they navigate the ups and downs of entrepreneurship.

To overcome these challenges, it's important for entrepreneurs to plan carefully and be proactive in addressing potential obstacles.

Conducting thorough research and seeking out resources such as mentors and networking opportunities can also help entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of starting and running a business.The allocation of funds depends on the type of business you are willing to start.Entrepreneurs are the backbone of a nation. They take risks and challenges that no one else will and bring innovation and creativity into the system that helps improve lives.

CONCLUSION

Today there are multiple entrepreneurial problems faced by entrepreneurs from lack of access to cheap capital on one hand and on the other hand, they are fighting macroeconomic challenges. The dual threat has made it difficult for businesses to survive. But the risk to reward for a startup is worth every pain and hurdle you face during your entrepreneurial journey. The challenges of social entrepreneurship are not different from other entrepreneurs, all you need is focus and determination to succeed. If you follow a dedicated path with passion, the right strategy, and focus; no power in the world can stop you from being a success.

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