Q&A. What is the Role of Higher Education Institutions in Promoting Entrepreneurship in India?

Abstract

The question what is the role of higher education institutions in promoting entrepreneurship in India is answered. Encouraging entrepreneurs to start new businesses is a priority for any government and is only increasing in importance as nations look to grow, become self-reliant, and overcome economic uncertainty. These are multi-dimensional objectives that can be fulfilled by promoting entrepreneurship in any economy, but in India, they take on added significance because of the size and age of the population. India's total population of 1.3 billion people ranks second only to China, and with 28% of those people aged 10 to 24 (28%), the country has 367 million young people that are either at the start of their careers or soon will be (UNFPA, 2015). One way to connect higher education institutions with an entrepreneurship ecosystem and provide real-world training to entrepreneurs is for an institution to run an incubator in the sense of a shared facility where a combination of training, mentoring, and infrastructural facilities are offered "under one roof".