ROLE OF ENTREPRENEUR IN GENERATION OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Entrepreneur plays a significant role in generation of employment opportunities. As we all know, entrepreneurship is a purposeful activity indulged in initiating, promoting and maintaining economic activities for production and distribution of goods and commodities, the person behind these economic activities is, therefore, a critical factor as well as an integral component of socio-economic  transformation. The development strategy of our country confronts two important problems-unemployment and poverty of the masses. These problems can be effectively minimized by activating the latent human potentials through entrepreneurship. This leads to the creation of self-employment avenues for large number of people.

  For reduction of unemployment, entrepreneurship in small and tiny sector industries, both in manufacturing and service sectors, is imperatively needed. Thus, the role of entrepreneur and its significance in generation of employment opportunities can be depicted under the following heads.

1. Establishing tiny, micro and small scale entrprises:

Role of entrepreneur in establishment the above types of enterprises is perceived as a powerful medium to address several socio-economic issues and the chief among them is generation of employment opportunities for millions. In a developing economy like India, where population pressure is quite high and job employment is limited, the role of entrepreneur is very much significant. Entrepreneurial development gives rise to economic independence through self-employment. Creation of tiny, micro and small enterprises by the entrepreneurs can lead to creation of both self- employment and wage- employment opportunities, thereby solving the problem of unemployment in the economy.

2. Giving emphasis upon village and cottage industries

Up liftment of economically backward sections of the society can be possible if self- employment opportunities can be provided at the grass root level. To enable these people in backward regions of the state to set up village and cottage industries, government has implemented several antipoverty programmes like PMRY, TRYSEM, SGSY, REGP etc, and the importance of entrepreneurs in cottage and village industries sector has been clearly acknowledged by Mahatma Gandhi by his policy priorities in village upliftment including khadi and village industries in his famous constructive programme in 1922. Prior to independence, cottage industries and handicraft production located in rural areas had occupied a distinct place in Indian economy because of their high potential in employment generation and income creation especially in rural and backward areas. As such, entrepreneur can play a significant role in setting up and reviving the cottage and village industries, thereby creating employment opportunities to a large number of people living in rural and backward pockets of the country.

3. Utilising the surplus labour force in industrial activities

India is a primary producing country. This characteristics feature is further  accentuated by seasonality feature of the agriculture. Therefore, for a large part of the year, people remain , more unemployed. Disguised unemployment is a chronic phenomenon in agriculture where in more  people work in a field than actually required. So the surplus labour force is transferred and utilized by the entrepreneur in non-farm sector activities like small tiny, cottage and village industries which are labour intensive in nature.