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Changing course

  • 29/11/1996

Changing course the accelerating growth rate of the rural non-farm sector (nfs) and its rising significance has necessitated the examination of the actors constituting it. Ajit Kanitkar makes a bold attempt at understanding the emergence and sustenance of rural entrepreneurship.

The importance of promoting non-agricultural economic activities, prompted the government to establish the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development, a funding agency encouraging rural enterprises. But, many income-generating schemes targetted at the rural poor have failed miserably. According to Kanitkar, for the promotion of the nfs and the entrepreneurs, one must understand the socio-economic background of the entrepreneurs well and study the factors facilitating and hindering their entry into the nfs . It is also important to study the choice of business and their management.

Field studies have revealed that it is more often than not an involuntary decision on the part of the entrepreneurs to enter the nfs. T hey are pushed into being their own masters due to the increasing pressure on land, the need to support large families, dwindling agricultural incomes and the burden of discharging family responsibilities. These were factors common to the backgrounds of 86 entrepreneurs studied. The study also indicates a shift from the occupation pursued by the parents and the family of the entrepreneurs.

Launching a business on their own was typically based on

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