By IANS,
New Delhi : Instead of seeking sops from the government, entrepreneurs should work towards creating an environment that is transparent and offers an opportunity for all to succeed, said the government’s chief economic adviser Friday.
Raghuram Rajan, chief economic adviser to the central government, was speaking at the inauguration of The Indus Entrepreneurs’ (TiE) second India Internet Day (IID) here.
He exhorted entrepreneurs to work with the government to create a better regulated business environment, which would be neither over- nor under-regulated.
“Now is the time for entrepreneurs with ideas to create better businesses and to make money. No one today grudges the process of wealth creation by legitimate means,” said Rajan, an alumnus of IIM and MIT.
Rajan admitted that the slowdown in India’s growth was due to the lack of institutional ability to grow. The process of allocation of natural resources was also not seen as transparent, he said, according to a statement issued by the TiE.
In this context, he cited the example of farmers dispossessed of their lands, who felt that they did not get a fair deal by the educated and savvy buyers.
Rajan said that entrepreneurs and politicians are people with ideas. Politicians sell their ideas by appealing to the electorate, wooing each individual for one vote.
Entrepreneurs were luckier as they have to woo richer customers who could, once convinced of the idea, product or service, buy more of the same product.
Rajan said that we need to give the masses an opportunity to educate themselves and know their options and opportunities.
Though the right to education, a move to get inclusive growth has touched nearly 98 percent of the target student population, the dropout rate continues to be high, Rajan said, calling for technology solutions to offer mass quality education.
Education is a means of helping all to get an opportunity to create wealth, he said.
In a chat with leading Indian internet entrepreneur and TiE member, Sanjeev Bikhchandani, Rajan said the government has been putting up infrastructure and applications like the MCA-21 that can create an environment for businesses to flourish without too much human intervention.
IID presented an opportunity for entrepreneurs to be mentored by seasoned industry hands and investors on start-up challenges that emerge from converting business plans into action points, understanding of marketing, sales and operations and the complex task of raising funds.
TiE, founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley, has over 13,000 members and over 2,500 charter members in 61 chapters across 15 countries. Its mission is to foster entrepreneurship globally through mentoring, networking, and education.