By IANS
Ahmedabad : City-based Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI) of India has launched a programme to develop at least 100,000 technology-based micro business enterprises across the country.
“We will be coordinating with NSTEDB by implementing education programmes. We have also been entrusted with the monitoring of the programme,” said Dinesh Awasthi, director of EDI, Monday.
The programme, conceived by the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) of the central government’s department of science and technology, has been outsourced to EDI in view of its five decades of experience and expertise in creating first-generation entrepreneurs out of graduates.
Speaking to reporters, Awasthi said the objective of the programme is to enable graduates in science and technology (S&T) to take to entrepreneurship rather than seeking jobs.
“The idea is to make them job providers instead of being job seekers,” he said.
The role of EDI is to train S&T graduates and diploma holders from polytechnics in conceiving, planning, initiating and launching an economic activity or an enterprise successfully.
He said the NSTEDB programme envisaged an outlay of Rs.50 million ($1.3 million) for the current year. More funds could be allocated in the future after a critical evaluation of the programme.
S.B. Sareen, EDI faculty member in charge of the programme, said the institute was involved in the implementation since it had a very good track record of developing entrepreneurs.
EDI had been successful in implementing textiles ministry’s cluster development project for handloom weavers covering 75,000 weavers.
Awasthi said food processing, garmenting, vermiculture and composting and biotechnology are the areas “we are looking at for creating entrepreneurs”.
Sareen said initially the focus would be on creating entrepreneurs in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Rajasthan besides the northeastern states.
These have been selected as focus areas as they are relatively poor states. However the implementation of the programme in developed states is not ruled out,” he added.
He said EDI would work with around 80 organisations, which are already in the field.