Dr Praveen Kumar Singh*, Pulkit Parikh and Mohil Joshi and Dr Bindu Singh / Lucknow
(*Corresponding author)
PREFACE
Today, entrepreneurship is regarded as one of the most feasible ways to provide new employment opportunities, reform society and infrastructure, and facilitate improved living and service values. Technical developments such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Robotics, Drones, and Virtual Reality, among others, have fundamentally altered the business outlook by incorporating these technologies to enhance business opportunities through a high-growth strategic strategy. Technologies are indispensable business enablers.
It has the potential to both speed up service delivery and improve the ecosystem as a whole. Entrepreneurs’ use of technology, equipment, and marketing platforms, as well as their capacity to adapt to a wide range of related challenges, are only some of the many indicators of the pervasive influences of technological progress.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN INDIA
Entrepreneurship in India is not the new phenomenon. Its presence can be felt way back from Indian Industrial Commission Report [1916-1918] which stated about the modern industrial system birth place being inhabited brought uncivilized tribes in India. It has been famous for its high artistic skill, craftsmanship and wealth. The current ‘Make in India’ policy is based on the pre-independence ‘Swadeshi movement,’ which began in 1905.
Post-independence, government emphasized more on heavy industries and the establishment of PSUs. Since then, major issues confronted by an entrepreneur in India have been lack of adequate technological support, dearth of suitable credit, poor infrastructure and non-availability of proper mentoring.
However, government of India has undertaken the considerable efforts to promote entrepreneurship and self-employment especially in informal sector. Emphasis has been laid for production skills including marketing, accounting as well as other micro-management to succeed by the entrepreneurs.
India started its globalization journey almost three decades ago. As on date, India is amongst one of the fastest growing economies over the globe. The nation represents a massive market prospect with almost billion-plus consumers. Indian consumers have been gradually maturing in respect of their digital entrepreneurship activities and they are connecting more with technology while consuming a large quantum of digital contents. Across digital payments, e-learning, e-commerce, online gaming and so on, the nation has been rapidly espousing a digital means of lives.
The recent pandemic, COVID fallouts have accelerated various digital transformations in entrepreneurships across the country. While calculating the Business Expectations Index (BEI), net response of nine business indicators namely overall business situation, production, order books, inventory of raw material, inventory of finished goods, profit margins, employment, exports and capacity utilisation.
Figure below illustrates the BEI of every quarter in India and with values between 0 and 200 with a value of 100 being the threshold which separates further spread from contraction. Despite last two tumultuous years due to this pandemic, India’s consumption has been quite robust as consumers incomes are likely to rise, and millions are further expected to acknowledge the growth in terms of their spending power.
As a result, for all kinds of global start-ups in different sectors in India like consumer technology, fin-tech, ed-tech, e-commerce etc which are looking forward to enlarge their footprints to generate enduring business success are likely to enhance their entrepreneurship activities.
Source: Tradingeconomics.com/Reserve Bank of India/Jun 22
NEW TECHNOLOGICAL TRENDS IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Since last few years we have witnessed some unprecedented growth in technology space. This growth has given rise to several technology domains such as Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) that uses computer algorithms to replicate human behavior by going through iterations in a computer program. Sudden growth in computing power has enabled evolution of these algorithms to become more complex and in some cases more capable than humans. AI/ML finds its use in fields where human error needs to be minimised.
In automobiles companies are working on self-driving cars with the use of AI/ML technologies. There are companies using this technology to mimic human brain. There are AIs that can create realistic images so real that it is hard to tell the difference between a real and a simulated image.
In the last few years, there has been a major progress in Artificial Intelligence applications including speech recognition, vision and natural language processing, multi-agent systems, image and video generation, decision-making, planning and robotics. It is also being extensively used in entertainment, shopping, conference calls and so on.
In another interesting development in AI, a senior software engineer Blake Lemoine at Google who signed up to test Google’s artificial intelligence tool called LaMDA (Language Model for Dialog Applications), has claimed that the AI robot is in fact sentient and has thoughts and feelings. After presenting his findings to company bosses, Google disagreed with him. Lemoine then decided to share his conversations with the tool online.
Advancements in cloud technologies has lowered the entry barrier for start-ups by helping them mitigate the problem of maintaining high-cost hardware and requirement of huge investment if scaling is required. CSQ Global Solutions, Backup Guru, Browser Stack, Infilect, Right Cloudz are a few Indian start-ups providing unique solutions in this domain. Blockchain is a disruptive technology that has enabled maintenance of decentralised record keeping.
Countries like Georgia have completely moved to blockchain technology for land registration. This technology has huge potential to completely change the Indian record keeping landscape. There are companies like CoinDCX and WAZIRX which are fastest growing India based crypto currency exchanges. We also have a company named KoineArth which is an ERP compatible block chain for enterprises.
Blockchain technology can have positive impact on HR. It can simplify the payroll process by automating as well as securing payments to human resources, contractors and other stakeholders. It could also transform workforces in terms of their skills needed, transparency and a secure value transfer etc.
In marketing, Blockchain can be used on ad networks to prevent middleman and to track who all click and interact with our ad to contest fraud. By employing an open ledger, blockchain facilitates advertisers to identify source of fraudulent or uneconomical clicks and blacklist it.
In digital marketing, Blockchain allow marketers to procure advertising directly from customers. It will be particularly favorable for small businesses which cannot have enough funds to pay large sum of money for advertising.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN INDIA
Convergences of technologies, integration at disparate platforms, and dispersed network architecture have opened yawning inroads for various enterprises. Entrepreneurship has been transformed by start-ups, innovations, and inventive advances to create jobs.
There are several levels of financial support available for emerging entrepreneurial enterprises, including initial capital offering. It also makes it easier for stakeholders to work together on vacancies. The Indian government has adopted a number of initiatives to boost entrepreneurship. Major facilitators are discussed in succeeding paragraph.
The Electronics Development Fund (EDF) promotes research and development, innovation, and product growth in nanoelectronics, semiconductors, and IT-related startups. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology supports these initiatives through the Electronics Development Fund. SETU (Self Employment and Talent Utilization) is one such venture that aims to design, research, and develop electronic products for the country. This techno-financial incubation is facilitated by NITI Aayog to help start-ups and other self-employment ventures in technology-related industries.
The India Aspiration Fund is a government scheme of Rs 2000 crore that will assist entrepreneurs and employ 200,000 people in start-up businesses. The Digital India Program provides broadband access in both urban and rural areas.
It is intended to help entrepreneurs and provide employment for 200,000 people in start-up businesses. It is widely believed that it will help to improve traditional rural crafts and arts, as well as local entrepreneurial models, in order to provide more opportunities for rural youth in India.
IMPACT OF DIGITAL BUSINESSES
Entrepreneurship, particularly in the digital businesses, has seen significant technological growth since the 1980s. Internet, social media, mobile communications, big data, cloud computing, blockchain, AI, IoT, etc. have created a favorabletechnological ecology for entrepreneurship. As a result, digital businesses have turned to business analytics, data homogeneity, re-programmability, and other self-referential results to foster entrepreneurship creativity. Many current digital innovations have been aided by entrepreneurship-facilitated technological resources.
A typical business model on a digital platform offers new opportunities for value creation and entrepreneurship. Digital businesses have successfully bridged the physical divide and motivated entrepreneurs through hybrid work environments including work from home. At the same time, it raises new cyber security problems to safeguard digital transactions and earn end-user trust.
In India, the Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises fosters entrepreneurial development. Recently, the overall development has accelerated due to frequent technological breakthroughs and skill up-gradations through appropriate training facilities. To strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem and encourage the future generation to pursue their own business ideas, the Ministry established three national entrepreneurship institutions in Noida, Guwahati, and Hyderabad. There are various initiatives for SMEs’ entrepreneurial development.
Various Technology Centers for MSMEs provide youth with high-level skill training. As a result, entrepreneurship backed by digital platforms will no longer necessitate entrepreneurs’ physical interactions with their clients. Entrepreneurs’ numerous physical interactions enable virtual ties, and this is the key development entrepreneurs see today.
IIT Kanpur beats pandemic with bullish placements
Adopting automation solutions to monitor and operate firms in real time, as well as simplifying complex processes using business analytics, AI, ML, robotics, and other technologies, has proven to be critical for many successful entrepreneurs. Restructuring enterprises through the use of competitive technology and innovative methods may assist young entrepreneurs in India in reaching new heights in the vibrant Indian entrepreneurship.