VOL. XXXVIII NO. 39 PAGES 56 NEW DELHI 28 DECEMBER 2013 - 3 JANUARY 2014 ` 8.00

PROMOTING ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN NORTH EAST INDIAArun Kumar Jha

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CAREER IN ECONOMICS

Vijay Prakash Srivastava

T he North East Region of India, consist-ing of the seven sisters i.e. states of

Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland,Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram andSikkim have so far been unable to keep pacewith the growth happening in rest of thecountry. Even with the Government allocat-ing specific funds every year for its develop-ment in infrastructure and other areas, theprogress has not been as per expectation.The diverse topography, climatic conditions,language and ethnicity of the region bringalong developmental challenges. The chal-lenges like infrastructure deficit particularlyconnectivity in all forms is common to theregion. Hence addressing issues of localinfrastructure, investment in human resourceand skill development has been a focus ofdevelopment efforts the region.The seven States of the North EasternRegion (NER) barring Sikkim are linked tothe rest of country through the 26 km longSiliguri Corridor forming an integrated geo-graphical unit. Barring Assam, the otherstates are small and hilly and have pocketsof substantial tribal concentration.Industrially, the region is plagued with manychallenges including that of infrastructureunavailability, despite being endowed withabundant resources. There also exists hugecapacity of hydro-electricity generationwhich if tapped, can be used to satisfy onethird of India's power requirement. Theregion is also endowed with vast amount ofcoal, petroleum and natural gas reserves.Almost all the states share borders withother neighbouring countries providingscope for expansion of trade and commerce.Against this background, if resources areharnessed prudently by encouraging microlevel and rural entrepreneurship and inte-grating it with local as well as internationalmarkets, there is potential to generateemployment and guarantee better living con-ditions.In spite of better literacy rate and naturalabundance of natural resources, in compari-

son to the rest of the country, the rates ofunemployment and poverty are high in theregion. If skilled work force is organized intorural enterprises, growth potential of theregion as well as unemployment can beaddressed. There is a need for proper edu-cation and training to tap the entrepreneurialopportunities available locally. In the shortrun, enterprise creation throughEntrepreneurship Development Programme(EDP) and Entrepreneurship cum SkillDevelopment Programme (ESDP) may formthe solution. These programmes are espe-cially designed for unemployed youth to starttheir own enterprises at any location which issuitable to the area as it lacks industries andalso addresses the issue locally without thedisplacing the local population. The Ministry of Micro, Small and MediumEnterprises (MSME) has been extendingcomprehensive package of services rangingfrom training and hand-holding support fol-lowed by credit, marketing and technologicalsupport. Among the many benefits of entre-preneurship development, generation ofemployments opportunities, eradication ofpoverty and utilisation of resources are a fewimportant ones. Enterprise creation on theplatform of diverse species of ornamentaland aromatic plants, expansion of floricul-ture, rubber plantations, mushroom cultiva-tion and handloom industries has immensepotential in the region.The communities through EDPs need to betaught about organising themselves into anenterprise, about the latest technical knowl-edge and skills needed for that particularindustry, provided with regular and moni-tored funding and then linked to the local andinternational market. Institutes like IndianInstitute for Entrepreneurship (IIE) are con-tributing towards this effort but efforts haveto be taken on much wider scale to havedesired impact. There are three main dimen-sions of entrepreneurship promotion in theregion namely, promoting an entrepreneurialculture/attitude; government support through

schemes/ programmes and facilitating anentrepreneurial system through technologyand funding.(1) Promoting an entrepreneurial attitude:It has been observed that one of the majorfactors that kill the spirit of entrepreneurshipis the family pressure. In India it is largelyobserved that students or children in generalare not encouraged to take up their ownventures because of two primary reasons,the risk factor and the so-called societalpressure (respect for service class). Theregion being no exception and the familyplays an important role in establishing thedesirability and credibility of entrepreneur-ship as a career path. There is a need toencourage a culture of healthy risk-takingaided by adequate support systems, whilesensitizing people in the spirit of entrepre-neurship.(2) Government support throughSchemes and Programmes:There is a need to ensure a sustainable busi-ness model that can solve some of the exist-ing problems and promise development forall. In the region IIE has therefore, beenintervening in various clusters of Assam tohelp local artisans to become good busi-nessmen/women and understand the valueof quality and professionalism. A RegionalResource Centre (RRC) is functioning forcluster development which has been pro-moted by Ministry of MSME. RRC has beenable to pool in expertise from NationalInstitute of Design (NID), local MicroFinancial Institutions (MFIs), technologicalservice providers etc. and is on the path ofbecoming a centre of excellence. It is alsonetworking with several Public SectorEnterprises of area and thereby trying to

channel their Corporate SocialResponsibility (CSR) towards EDP/ ESDPand enterprise creation. In addition toMinistry of MSME, the MinistriesDevelopment of North Eastern Region andTextiles have been implementing separateschemes for development in their respectivesectors in North Eastern Region.(3) Facilitating an entrepreneurial systemIt is felt that large enterprises need a biggerdomestic market and hence would berestricted to the mainland. However, there isno doubt that region can easily thrive on abusiness model that promotes micro andsmall entrepreneurs and concentrates local-ly which could be profitable for them. Thekey to success is therefore, creating anentrepreneurial culture among the people ofNER. Though entrepreneurship educationand schemes are crucial to start an ecosys-tem of entrepreneurs in NER, it is the finan-cial and technical support that will completethis ecosystem. By providing the right tech-nology at an economic price, and bystrengthening the access to credit, the gov-ernment can help NER to reach an upgrad-ed level of entrepreneurship. This will alsoensure the mobilization of other resourcesand trigger innovations.Thus, NER has the potential to transformitself into a hub of entrepreneurship. Theefforts in this direction need to be collatedtogether with full support from theGovernment, credit agencies along with theinvolvement of the local community toensure development with equity for the NERto unleash the potential of its human and nat-ural resources.(Arun Kumar Jha, Director, IIE Guwahati& Director General, NIESBUDe-mail: dg@niesbud.gov.in)

'E conomics is what economists do'-this is how economics has been

defined in many books on the subject.This definition holds good because eco-nomics is a vast subject and it's difficult tocomprehend in a few words what eco-nomics is and what it is not. By going a lit-tle deeper we can say that economicsincludes study of resources and efficientutilization thereof.Samuel Johnson, Joan Hicks, AdamSmith, Gunnar Myrdal, Amaratya Sen areamong the people who chose economicsas their area of work and made significantcontribution to the subject. The financialslowdown that has severely impacted anumber of countries and whose after-shocks are being felt in rest of the worldhas resulted in renewed focus on thestudy of economics and role of econo-mists. Economics has always been animportant subject and offers variety ofcareer across industries at both nationallevel and international arena. The stu-dents of economics are required to haveinsight as how the economy functions at

both macro and micro level and be ableto establish linkages with various issues.Economics as a subject can be studiedfrom the level 10+2. But to make a careerin economics one should normally have apostgraduate degree although a fewcareers may be available after graduatingwith economics as one of the subjects.Study of economics covers economicprinciples, theories, money, banking, for-eign trade, public finance, national andglobal economy etc. Specialization isavailable in the branches like rural devel-opment, agricultural economics, interna-tional economics, finance, insurance,developmental economics, behaviouraleconomics, labour economics, statistics,econometric and like.Most of the Indian universities and manyof its affiliated colleges offer postgraduatecourses in economics. Some well-knowninstitutes for higher studies in economicsinclude Indira Gandhi Institute ofDevelopment Research, Mumbai;Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi,Delhi School of Economics, Madras

School of Economics, Jawaharlal NehruUniversity, New Delhi etc. London Schoolof Economics is a good bet for studyabroad.With a graduate qualification in econom-ics one can become an investigator incentral government for which UnionPublic Service Commission conducts aselection process every year. With apostgraduate qualification, the opportuni-ties are many. You may appear for theprestigious Indian Economic Service(IES) examination conducted by UPSC.As an IES officer one gets the opportuni-ty to work in Planning Commission,Central Government Departments andagencies etc. If one has an aptitude fordata and figures joining an advertising ormarket research agency, where collec-tion, analyses and research of data is aregular practice to come out with trendsbased on which marketing, productionand advertising initiatives can beexplored.Those interested in journalism may find a

Continued on page 56

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break in mainstream newspapers, financial/business dailies,periodicals and also in electronic media. Both electronic andprint media require people who can talk and write about mattersrelated to economy and political economy.For teaching and research, economics offers myriad opportuni-ties. One may choose to teach economics at secondary, gradu-ate, postgraduate levels and at management institutions. Toteach higher classes one will need a Ph. D qualification. In fact,economics is one subject which has high research orientationand with doctorate in economics you become eligible for highend careers in top organizations. For research in economicsthere are focused institutions like Delhi based Institute ofEconomic Growth, Mumbai based Indira Gandhi Institute ofDevelopment research, International Institute for PopulationStudies and Institute for Social & Economic Change, Bangaloreetc. Research can be pursued at universities also. Those qualified in economics can take up the job of equityresearcher or analyst in some broking firm, Mutual FundCompany or with foreign institutional investors. All big industrialhouses and financial institutions have the position of economistwho mostly plays an advisory role for the management team.Banks-public, private and foreign, also appoint economists atvarious levels mostly in specialist positions. Careers in generalbanking are also open for students of economics. Many youngpeople already working or wanting to work in government or pri-vate banks come from an economics background. ReserveBank of India periodically conducts examination for recruitmentof Grade B officers in which postgraduates in economics areconsidered eligible. NABARD can also be an option.Industrybodies like Confederation of Indian Industries, Federation ofIndian Chambers of Commerce and Industries, ASSOCHAMetc. have also economists in their team. With a good, higher qualification in economics one can make acareer with global or international organizations like World Bank,International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank,International Labour organization, World Economic Forum,Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development,Ford Foundation which already have quite a few people fromIndia.A debate has always been there if economics should be consid-ered a subject of humanities or a science subject. In our coun-try mostly it's included in humanities though a few institutionsoffer the postgraduate degree in economics as M. S. in eco-nomics. Perceived by some as highly technical subject the sub-ject is interesting and quite relevant to individuals, institutions,nations and the world.(Vijay Prakash Srivastava works for Bank of India.

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Empowering the Disabled

The landmark legislation to create anti- corruption ombudsman was passed in Parliament.The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011 provides for the establishment of a body of Lokpal forthe Union and Lokayukta for States to inquire into allegations of corruption against certainpublic functionaries. Lokpal will consist of a chairperson and a maximum of eight members,of which 50 per cent shall be judicial members. (details in web exclusive)The Cabinet Committee on Skill Development has approved the National SkillsQualifications Framework (NSQF), a quality assurance framework which organizes qualifi-cations according to a series of levels of knowledge, skills and aptitude. These levels aredefined in terms of learning outcomes which the learner must possess regardless ofwhether they were acquired through formal, non-formal or informal learning.Sahitya Akademi Award of 2013 has been announced. The Awards were recommended bydistinguished Jury members representing 22 Indian languages. Bollywood lyricistscriptwriter Javed Akhtar, Hindi novelist Mridula Garg and renowned Bengali poet SubodhSarkar are among those selected for this year's Sahitya Akademi AwardIndigenously manufactured Thalassemia and Sickle Cell diagnostic kit to simplify identifi-cation of seven common beta-thalassemia mutations and two common abnormal haemo-globins common in India has been unveiled. Reverse Dot Blot Hybridization (RDB) Kit forthalassemia, launched by the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam NabiAzad, has been developed by scientists of National Institute of Immunohematology (NIIH)and the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and is presently being domesticallymanufactured by IMGENEX Ltd. The molecular kit is expected to meet the need for afford-able and sensitive tests for diagnosis of affected children and for prenatal diagnosis in thefirst trimester.Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Shri Sis Ram Ola passed away recently. ShriSis Ram Ola was elected to the Lok Sabha in the year 1996 from Jhunjhunu and was con-tinuously re-elected to the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th Lok Sabha from the same constituen-cy. He was conferred the Padma Shri in 1968 and was honoured with the Indira GandhiBalika Niketan Award for his efforts to promote education amongst girls in the rural areasof Rajasthan.International Airport at Bengaluru has been renamed as Kempegowda International Airportafter city's founder Kempegowda, a chieftain who ruled the city in the 16th century underthe Vijayanagara empire and worked for the development of the entire region.

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