In India, because of culture & traditions, women are supposed to perform household activities & take care of the family; for these reasons, women’s entrepreneurship is very low. But due to the widespread education and social awareness over the last three decades, women are now showing interest in starting their own ventures. Hence, there is a considerable growth of women entrepreneurs.
Eg:- Mujumdar Shaw of Biochem, Shahanaj Husana, Mahila Khadi Udyog.
Nowadays, Indian women are willing to accept challenges & assume responsibility in economic, social, and political groups. Generally, they engage them in tiny or small cottage industries, but recent studies show women have been starting ventures in all sectors equivalent to male
A survey shows the following reasons for women to become entrepreneurs
- Lack of job opportunity
- The increasing cost of living
- Due to higher education, they are entering into entrepreneurial activities
- A lot of opportunities in the market
- Family background of having a business
a)Though women are entering into business activities, they constitute 47.7% of the total population, but women workforce constitutes only 28% of the female population
b)Total number of self-employed women was engaged in an organised sector like handicraft, Agriculture, Handloom, cottage-based industry
c)1988-89 survey shows there were 153000 women entrepreneur which are 9% of a total of 1.7 million in India. Thus, from 1980 onwards, India has shown positive growth among women entrepreneurship during 95-96 there were 300000 women entrepreneurs in India
In India, women entrepreneurs are classified as follows
- Women with adequate education & professional qualifications get engaged in the business
- Middle-class women who have an education but lack training
- Women who take up a business enterprise and face financial difficulties
Government of India has made certain efforts through industrial policies
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7-5-year plan
This plan has included a special provision for the development of women. The 1991 industrial policy highlights a special training programme to develop women entrepreneurs. The objective of these plans was to increase the number of women in the field of small industry & to create self-employment
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8-5-year plan
This plan gave importance to the development of the SSI sector. Before the implementation of this plan, the percentage of women entrepreneurs was 9 % & was targeted to 20%
In 1996, the Department of SSI under the Ministry of Industry had taken the initiative to train a lakh women entrepreneurs. Through various schemes like
- Mahila Gramudyog Scheme
- Jawahar Rojagar Uyojaga Scheme
- Ibis Mahila Udyog Vidhi
- Urban Poverty Education Programme
- Scheme Of Nabard
- Shakti Package for Women’s
- Schemes of SBI
These were to stimulate growth among women
There is a federation of the Society of Women Entrepreneurs, which also supports women entrepreneurs. Besides this, at the state level, various programs are also conducted
For Eg –women Industrialist Association of Maharashtra was set up in 1985.
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