Factors Influencing Growth of Rural Entrepreneurship in Tripura: A Socio – Economic Perspective

Abstract

Entrepreneurship for Indian society is not a new concept; the belief of entrepreneurship is a part of its tradition. India has been a rich entrepreneurial society, its animal spirit remained suppressed for long time due to the preponderance of the public sector, but now it has become the dominant and emerging sector primarily due to development of skills and new innovations. Traditionally entrepreneurship has been associated with particular community. However, with changing times and rapid rise of knowledge, a new group of entrepreneurs are emerging who are generating employment opportunities and wealth generation. It is noteworthy that the spread of entrepreneurship is not only limited to the urban areas but have also become a rural phenomenon in India. The rural entrepreneurs are the key drivers for employment generation and wealth creation in villages as well. Rural entrepreneurship has become the backbone for the development in these areas along with the programmes for poverty alleviation and employment generation. The estimated current population of India is 1.29 billion where 65 percent of this population is under the age of 35 years. In India, multiple initiatives have been undertaken by the union government since 1952 to promote a rural entrepreneurship but no significant changes have been made in the socio-economic life of rural entrepreneur; which indicates other factors are responsible for the growth of rural entrepreneurship. This research study is an endeavor in search of those factors which has influence on the entrepreneurship growth of rural Indian villages. This study has been conducted in rural villages of the state Tripura situated in North-eastern part of India.