Indian Knowledge System and Enterprise Evolution: A Review of Indigenous Knowledge Integration in Indian SMEs

Abstract

Small and Medium Businesses (SMEs) are essential to creating jobs, encouraging innovation, and fostering inclusive growth in India's changing economic environment. At the same time, there is unrealized potential for sustainable skill development in Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS), a storehouse of indigenous knowledge including health, education, architecture, handicraft, and agriculture. The relationship between IKS and skill development in the SME sector is examined in this review article, which also critically looks at how traditional knowledge might be used to fill the skill shortages among current employees by enhancing current professional frameworks. In order to determine how IKS might influence training models, entrepreneurial practices, and community-based learning in SMEs, the article reviews current literature, policies, and case studies. Along with outlining the difficulties of integration, such as scalability, formal recognition, and digitization, it also offers a strategic plan for utilizing IKS in modern organizational growth. In order to promote IKS as a catalyst for SMEs that are prepared for the future rather than as a holdover from the past, the study highlights the necessity of an inclusive, culturally founded skill ecosystem that respects tradition while welcoming innovation.