'India lags behind other Asian countries in entrepreneurship'

NEW DELHI: India lags behind other Asian countries in promoting entrepreneurship as out of the 20 economic entities in Asia, the country was ranked in the bottom quartile, a survey says.

According to a Gallup World Poll study of 20 economic entities in Asia, India has been ranked in the bottom quartile on several important indicators of a well-functioning entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Entrepreneur, is an individual who proactively seeks to generate value through expansion of economic activity and who creatively responds to challenges and needs encountered in the process of accomplishing this outcome.

The survey, however, noted that Indian population have an abundant reserve of entrepreneurial talent.

More than 60 per cent of the Indian population possesses personality traits that are critical for the success as an entrepreneur -- like business thinking, optimism, and persistence.

Gallup, however, said willingness to take the risk of running a business is not a common trait among a majority of Indians.

"Entrepreneurship plays a vital role in India's current and future economic growth. It is the responsibility of industry and government leaders to understand the key talents and support required to impact positive entrepreneurship across India," Gallup India Senior Consultant Yamini Arora said.

One of the major factors hindering entrepreneurship is that it is not easy to start a business in India.

According to the survey, around 46 per cent of Indians say the government makes it hard to start a business.

In addition, the World Bank's report "Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World" ranks India at 166 among 183 countries in terms of starting a business.

This ranking was unchanged from 2011, indicating that little progress has been made toward reforming rules and procedures to benefit those planning to start a business.

Another hindrance is high corruption levels, as more than seven in 10 Indian adults in the survey believe that corruption is widespread in government.

Gallup also found that 22 per cent of aspirational entrepreneurs who plan to start their business in the next 12 months have access to formal or informal training to start a business -- which is much lower than the Asia average of 44 per cent.