When it comes to promoting entrepreneurship, only six states in the country are moving in the right directions. According to a recent white paper prepared by KPMG India and TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) the states are: Punjab, Gujarat, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The KPMG-TiE paper titled ‘Entrepreneurial India: Sculpting the landscape’, said that in most of the cases, governmental programmes are focused at larger enterprises only.

Jehil Thakkar, executive director, KPMG India, said, “Government policies, incentives and programmes play a substantial role in influencing entrepreneurs. In many cases, governments are moving towards friendlier policies, but more rapid change is necessary. The white paper endeavors to assess the initiatives of select Indian states to encourage entrepreneurial growth, put forth best practices, raise the profile of discussions on entrepreneurship development and contribute to shaping policy.”

Highlighting the views of entrepreneurs, the paper said that while different state governments are taking proactive policy decisions or framing innovative industrial strategies, awareness of the same is low among entrepreneurs. Similarly, in many areas, policies need to be made more pertinent with today’s environment. For instance in Delhi, the basic policy framework has not been revised for the last 27 years. Hence, many entrepreneurs are not aware of the policies and perhaps were not able to harness the benefits while starting their entrepreneurial journey.

While entrepreneurs in Gujarat and Karnataka are extremely satisfied with their government’s quick policy decisions (although they still expect quicker implementations), entrepreneurs in Punjab desire more focused attention and will, from the political establishments, which they hope will steer investments in small scale industries. However, they appreciate their government’s policy initiatives in agro and IT/ ITeS sector.

According to entrepreneurs in Tamil Nadu, the government through Tamil Nadu Small Industries Development Corporation (TANSIDCO) also played a catalytic role in the promotion and development of small scale industries and hastening the industrial dispersal throughout the state. The state has also been one of the first in the country to specifically focus on promoting industry and business growth in tier II and tier III cities thus aiming for the holistic development of the state, the report said.

“There are ample opportunities in small businesses in India and such opportunities have the potential to transform India in the future. For the government, it is important to realise that the goal of small business owners is to remain self-employed. Such people may not need financial assistance, but they are definitely likely in need of regulatory, marketing and legal assistance in order to sustain themselves and grow,” said Thakkar.