See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: [Link]

net/publication/348938660

Entrepreneurship Policy and Support Framework in India

Chapter · February 2021

DOI: 10.1142/9789811212741_0003

CITATIONS READS

0 689

3 authors:

Vikas Singh Shilpa Sindhu

Department of Food and Public Distribution System, Ministry of Consumer Affairs,… The Northcap University
8 PUBLICATIONS 10 CITATIONS 28 PUBLICATIONS 109 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Anupama Panghal
National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management
40 PUBLICATIONS 154 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Vikas Singh on 11 February 2023.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 6”x9” b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

© 2021 World Scientific Publishing Company

[Link]

Chapter 3
by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

Entrepreneurship Policy and Support

Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

Framework in India

Vikas Singh, Shilpa Sindhu and Anupama Panghal

3.1 Introduction
Entrepreneurship creates value by organising efforts of individuals and
groups to meet demand through innovation and uniqueness in a state of
limited resources.1 Entrepreneurship helps to give direction of modern
economics and constitutes one of the four mainstream economic factors:
land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship. India is the fastest emerging
economy and has the potential to become the first global power by 2050.2
Its increasing population offers it a competitive advantage in terms of
labour. The current population of India is 1,370,339,445, which contributes
to 17.74 percent of the total world population3, with the rural population
share at 65.97 percent of India’s total population.4 Indeed, a huge popula-
tion gives a competitive advantage to the country, but at the same time, it
can be a hinderance in terms of unemployment. India’s unemployment

1
Coulter, M.K. (2001). Entrepreneurship in Action. Prentice Hall.
2
India’s Culture. “India, A Fast-Emerging Economy”. [Link]
[19 September 2019].
3
Worldometersinfo. [Link]
[19 September 2019].
4
World Bank. “Rural Population (% of Total Population)”. [Link]
indicator/[Link]. [19 September 2019].

47

b3844_Ch-[Link] 47 26-11-2020 7.28.52 PM

 6”x9”
b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

48 Vikas Singh, Shilpa Sindhu and Anupama Panghal

rate is currently hovering around 8.0 percent5 and the unemployment rate
is observed more in rural areas as compared to urban areas. The majority
of the rural population is dependent on agriculture or agricultural-related
services which only contributes 15.87 percent of total Gross Value Added
(GVA) at current prices. The different sectors of the economy show varied
by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

changes in the Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices. The service sec-
tor has the highest percentage of GVA at current prices and has shown
Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

increasing trends since the financial year 2011–2012 to 2018–2019. The

service sector of India covers water, sanitation, health, trade, financial,
real estate and software services.
Agriculture is a primary source of livelihood for 58 per cent of
India’s population for whom Rs 140,763.97 crore as per Union Budget
2019–20 were sanctioned. The agriculture sector of the economy shows
comparatively less growth in the last eight financial years. Despite this,
India’s horticulture production shows a Compound Annual Growth Rate
(CAGR) of 3.69 percent between FY2008–2019. The updated agricul-
tural policy was introduced by the Government of India on December
2018, which aims to increase the country’s agricultural exports with a
stable trade policy regime. Along with this for marketing and financial
assistance, the government of India came out with Transport and
Marketing Assistance (TMA) which helps in boosting agriculture prod-
ucts’ exports.6
Also, India stood at sixth in the global food and grocery market with
food processing industries contributing 32 percent, representing 13 per-
cent of total exports and six percent of industrial investment.7 Furthermore,
the dairy sector has also made a significant contribution to revenue collec-
tion. To enable the continued growth of the food processing sector, India
needs better support for infrastructure. In line with this, in 2017, 42 mega

5
CMIE. “Unemployment Rate in India”. [Link]/kommon/bin/
[Link]?kall=wshowtab&dtype=rural%20[Link] [19 September 2019].
6
Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
“Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) for Specified Agriculture Products Notified”.
[Link] [19 September 2019].
7
Branson, A., Mani, R., & Anthony, R. (2018). “India’s Food Processign Sector Poised for
Growth:Global Agriculture Information Network”. USDA Foreign Agriculture Service,
Report No.IN8302, pp. 1–11.

b3844_Ch-[Link] 48 26-11-2020 7.28.52 PM

 6”x9” b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

Entrepreneurship Policy and Support Framework in India 49

food parks were sanctioned by the Government of India, out of which

25 mega food parks were operational by year end 2018.8 Foreign direct
investment (FDI) in the food processing sector is expected to cross
US$28b in 2019 which was corroborated by the increase in sales of pro-
cessed food in the domestic market. The packaged food industry in India
by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

is also expected to develop at a significant pace.

Notwithstanding this, recent trends favour the growth and open new
Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

opportunities for entrepreneurship. Furthermore, the expansion of interna-

tional companies corroborates this sector’s promise. Consumers from
abroad prefer Indian products. Indian consumers are also shifting their
preferences towards packaged food and fruits and vegetables.
Such promising facts support India in providing an encouraging and
supportive base for entrepreneurs. The shift in consumer preferences is
motivating entrepreneurs to come up with innovative business models. As
per the existing literature base, it has been observed that the entrepre-
neurial ecosystem in developing Asian nations focuses more on relation-
ships and long-established networks, while developed nations focus more
on firm-based entrepreneurship.9–15; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15
Historically in India, innovative entrepreneurship has been limited
due to the prevailing caste system, cultural norms and government

8
Ministry of Finance, Government of India (2017). “Economic Survey”.
9
Dana, L.-P. (2000a). “Creating Entrepreneurs in India”. Journal of Small Business
Management, 38 (1), 86.
10
Dana, L.-P. (1995). “Small Business in a Non-entrepreneurial Society: The Case of the Lao
People’s Democratic Republic (Laos)”. Journal of Small Business Management, 33 (3), 95.
11
Dana, L.-P. (1997). “The Origins of Self-employment in Ethno-cultural Communities:
Distinguishing Between Orthodox Entrepreneurship and Reactionary Enterprise”. Canadian
Journal of Administrative Sciences/Revue Canadienne des Sciences de l’Administration, 14
(1), 52–68.
12
Dana, L.-P. (1998). “Small Business in Xinjiang”. Asian Journal of Business and
Information Systems, 3 (1), 123–36.
13
Dana, L.-P. (1999). “Entrepreneurship as a Supplement in the People’s Republic of
China”. Journal of Small Business Management, 37 (3), 76–80.
14
Dana, L.-P. (1999). Entrepreneurship in Pacific Asia: Past, Present and Future. World
Scientific Publishing Company.
15
Dana, L.-P. (2000b). “Change and Circumstance in Kyrgyz Markets”. Qualitative Market
Research: An International Journal, 3 (2), 62–73.

b3844_Ch-[Link] 49 26-11-2020 7.28.52 PM

 6”x9”
b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

50 Vikas Singh, Shilpa Sindhu and Anupama Panghal

regulations, but now the emphasis is given on changing mindsets and pro-
moting entrepreneurship.16 This chapter discusses the policy structure and
infrastructural framework for entrepreneurs in India.

3.2 Policy Framework for Entrepreneurs

by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

Any entrepreneurship policy in general, aims at the whole entrepreneurial

Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

process from its initial phase of inception until the early post-start-up
phase to frame the way of delivering motivating perception, skills, and
opportunities.17 The objective of policy should not only be to maximise a
certain indicator of entrepreneurship; rather, it must be focused on creat-
ing a context, a system, in which productive entrepreneurship can flour-
ish.18 Furthermore, entrepreneurship must foster opportunities in terms of
enhancing value-addition by manifesting innovation and increasing mar-
ginal labour productivity.19 Collectively, adopting innovation and improv-
ing marginal labour productivity results in employment growth and
diversifying the market which consequently impacts positively on the
social and economic development of a nation.20
Edoho21 suggests that entrepreneurship is a central part of economic
growth and social development, and for policymakers in search of a sus-
tainable and competitive entrepreneurial economy, a policy can be defined
in various ways.22 The policy is a guiding tool for individuals or groups of

16
Dana (2000a). op. cit.
17
Dana, L.-P., Etemad H., & Wright R.W. (2008). “Toward a Paradigm of Symbiotic
Entrepreneurship”. International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 5 (2),
109–126.
18
Lundström, A & Stevenson, L.A. (2005). Entrepreneurship Policy: Theory and Practice.
Springer, New York, NY.
19
Acs, Z.J. & Szerb, L. (2007). “Entrepreneurship, Economic Growth and Public Policy”.
Small Business Economics, 28 (2–3), 109–122.
20
Stam, E. (2015). “Entrepreneurial Ecosystems and Regional Policy: A Sympathetic
Critique”. European Planning Studies, 23 (9), 1759–1769.
21
Edoho, F.M. (2016). “Entrepreneurship Paradigm in the New Millennium: A Critique of
Public Policy On Entrepreneurship”. Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies,
8 (2), 279–294.
22
Akbaba, A. (2012). “Business Performance of Small Tourism Enterprises: A Comparison
Among Three Sub-sectors of the Industry”. Anatolia, 23 (2), 177–195.

b3844_Ch-[Link] 50 26-11-2020 7.28.52 PM

 6”x9” b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

Entrepreneurship Policy and Support Framework in India 51

individuals to achieve the solution for a common concern.23 An entrepre-

neurship policy’s objective is to instil a sense of entrepreneurship among
social agents and promote productive businesses activities.24 Anderson25
suggests that entrepreneurship policy in a developing nation must focus
on individual and small businesses rather than large corporations. Rigby
by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

and Ramlogan26 found that earlier, entrepreneurship policy only targeted

improving the operational environment of small businesses without con-
Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

sidering the issue of creating new companies. Typically, an entrepreneur-

ial economy is a knowledge-based economy that targets small and new
businesses rather than an industrial economy.27 It must render the innova-
tion and quality of offering which results in self-employment and empow-
erment of individuals and groups.28
Henrekson & Stenkula29 state that a well-designed entrepreneurship
policy can help reduce poverty. The policy must be well-designed for a
better entrepreneurial environment.30 Thus, to create a conducive environ-
ment, the entrepreneurial policy should encompass every dimension of
growth and policy. Entrepreneurship policy when designed and imple-
mented will need to eventually increase motivation amongst individuals to
attempt entrepreneurship, create a conducive environment where moti-
vated individuals will find potential opportunities for exploitation and/or
exploration, and they will have the required support in terms of education,

23
Tsai, W.H. & Kuo, H.C. (2011). “Entrepreneurship Policy Evaluation and Decision
Analysis for SMEs”. Expert Systems with Applications, 38 (7), 8343–8351.
24
Stevenson, L. & Lundström, A. (2001). “Entrepreneurship Policy for the Future: Best
Practice Components”. Keynote Speech for the ICSB Conference, Taipei.
25
Anderson, J.E. (2014). Public Policymaking. Cengage Learning.
26
Rigby, J. & Ramlogan, R. (2013). “The Impact and Effectiveness of Entrepreneurship
Policy”. Nesta Working Paper 13/01.
27
Norbäck, P.J, Persson, L., & Douhan, R. (2014). “Entrepreneurship Policy and
Globalisation”. Journal of Development Economics, 110, 22–38.
28
Stevenson, L. & Lundström, A. (2007). “Dressing the Emperor: The Fabric of
Entrepreneurship Policy”. Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship Policy, 94–129.
29
Henrekson, M. & Stenkula, M. (2010). “Entrepreneurship and Public Policy”. In Acs Z.,
Audretsch D. (Eds.) Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research, pp. 595–637. Springer,
New York, NY.
30
Acs, Z.J. & Virgill, N. (2010). “Entrepreneurship in Developing Countries”. In: Acs Z.,
Audretsch D. (Eds) Handbook of Entrepreneurship Research, pp. 485–515. Springer,
New York, NY.

b3844_Ch-[Link] 51 26-11-2020 7.28.52 PM

 6”x9”
b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

52 Vikas Singh, Shilpa Sindhu and Anupama Panghal

skill development, resources, and support services to create and capture

value from these opportunities. In addition to this, the ultimate nature of
an Entrepreneurship Policy Framework must be inclusive, and it should
help nations achieve sustainable development.
by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

3.3 Policy Framework in India

Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

The Indian government is introducing and promoting various policies to

foster entrepreneurship in India and examples of these are as follows.

3.3.1 Policy/Scheme Initiatives for Entrepreneurship

Development in Indian Agriculture Sector
· Agriculture Export Policy 2018
· Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana (PM-Kisan)
· Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay Sanrakshan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA)
· Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY)
· Model Contract Farming & Services Act 2018
· Electronic National Agriculture Market (eNAM), a unified national
market for agricultural commodities since April 2016
· ‘SAMPADA’ (Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development
of Agro-Processing Clusters) with the aim of waste reduction and
doubling farmer’s income
· Around 60 Agri Export Zones (AEZ) have been set up across the country

3.3.2 Policies for Entrepreneurship Development in Indian

Service Sector
· Services Exports from India Scheme (SEIS)
· National Digital Communications Policy 2018
· National Tourism Policy 2015
· National Health Policy 2017
· National Education Policy, 2016
· Foreign Direct Investment Policy
· Goods and Service Tax

b3844_Ch-[Link] 52 26-11-2020 7.28.52 PM

 6”x9” b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

Entrepreneurship Policy and Support Framework in India 53

· Drafted Trade Facilitation in Services (TFS) for addressing the issues

pertinent to transparency, streamlining procedures and eliminating
bottlenecks31
· Association of South-East Asian Nation (ASEAN) and India signed a
Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with effect from 1st July 2015
by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

· In terms of promotional measures, India organised Global Exhibition

on Services (GEC) in April 2017
Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

3.3.3 Policies for Entrepreneurship Development in Indian

Manufacturing Sector
· Make in India Initiative
· Skill India Initiative
· Startup India
· National Manufacturing Policy

3.4 Institutional Support for Entrepreneurs in India

Entrepreneurship is impacted by several influencing factors; individual,
environmental, socioeconomics and institutional setups. The environment
and the institutional setups are exerting direct influence on entrepreneur-
ship. Specifically, an institutional support system helps in guiding entre-
preneurship development and facilitates the way entrepreneurs behave.32
An attempt is made here to perceive entrepreneurship development from
the perspective of the institutional support system. Figure 1 depicts the
promotional agencies and institutions which are engaged in development
of entrepreneurship in India. These institutions are working in the area of
technical guidance, financial support and training. In India 93 percent of
the workforce are associated with the unorganized sector, thus having
such overwhelming number, it will be incumbent on the government to
maintain this avenue for their survival.

Ministry of Finance, Government of India. op. cit.

31

Welter, F. & Smallbone, D. (2011). “Institutional Perspectives on Entrepreneurial

32

Behaviour in Challenging Environments”. Journal of Small Business Management, 49 (1),

107–125.

b3844_Ch-[Link] 53 26-11-2020 7.28.52 PM

 6”x9”
b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

54 Vikas Singh, Shilpa Sindhu and Anupama Panghal

by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.
Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

Figure 1: Institutional support system in India

Source: Prepared by author.

The Government of India undertook several initiatives and established

a National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector
(NCEUS) on 20 September,33 to achieve the goal of a Common Minimum
Programme that committed itself “to ensure the welfare and well-being of
all workers, particularly those in the unorganised sector”. It has been
recommended by this commission that any enterprise working in the unor-
ganised sector must receive technical, marketing and credit sup­port. Later,
financial institutions like the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development (NABARD) was designated as an apex development bank in
the country. The bank was established in 1982 by a Special Act of
Parliament, with a mandate to uplift rural India. It plays a significant role
in attracting rural youth, district industrial rural projects (DRIPs) and rural
entrepreneurship development programs (REDPs).
Similarly, the Industrial development bank of India (IDBI), through
its subsidiary Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
ensures the flow of financial and non-financial assistance to the small-
scale sector. The Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO) was
established in 1954 to develop support services for the promotion of small
sectors. These autonomous bodies facilitate entrepreneurs by providing
them with training, testing facilities, preparation of project proposals and

33
National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector, Academic Foundation
(2008). “Report on Conditions of Work and Promotion of Livelihoods in the Unorganised
Sector”. New Delhi, India.

b3844_Ch-[Link] 54 26-11-2020 7.28.54 PM

 6”x9” b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

Entrepreneurship Policy and Support Framework in India 55

product profiles, technical and managerial consultancy etc. SIDO has

promoted the following institutes and centres and is responsible for their
management; Small Industries Service Institutes (SISI), Product-cum-
Process Development Centres (PCPDC), Regional Training Centre
(RTC). SIDO also controls the affairs of the National Institute for Small
by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

Industries Extension Training (NISIET) Hyderabad, National Institute for

Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) New
Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

Delhi, and integrated training centres at Nilokheri, Haryana. The National

Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) Ltd. supplies machinery and
equipment, financial assistance, assistance for arranging raw materials,
and marketing assistance. For technical support in the small scale sector
NSIC established Technical Services Centres (TSC) which include;
Entrepreneurship Development of India (EDI), National Institute for
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (NI-MSME) in Hyderabad,
NIESBUD at New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) in
Uttar Pradesh, and the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) at
Guwahati, as autonomous societies. These institutes undertake training
programs, research activities and consultancy for promoting entrepreneur-
ship. Furthermore, for strengthening research and development activities
at village level, a separate national level institute was constituted called
the Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Rural Industrialization (MGIRI) in
association with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi.

3.5 Examples of Entrepreneurial Ventures

From the agriculture and services sector, these entrepreneurs are putting
great effort towards the growth of their businesses and are also supporting
the growth of entrepreneurship in India, showing a pathway to others.

3.5.1 Legex
Legex was founded in January 2019 with a vision to make legal processes
accessible to individuals and organisations alike using technical infra-
structure and assistance from professionals (Figure 2). In terms of imple-
mentation, the startup intends to cover Delhi NCR, after which other
major cities will also be covered.

b3844_Ch-[Link] 55 26-11-2020 7.28.54 PM

 6”x9”
b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

56 Vikas Singh, Shilpa Sindhu and Anupama Panghal

by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.
Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

Figure 2: Service provided by Legex

Source: Legex.

The idea of Legex was a collective vision of Mr. Vishesh, Mr. Akshit,
Mr. Aayush and Mr. Niraj. They feel that the service sector has plenty of
challenges, but with right business acumen, they can be channeled into
opportunities. The best way to identify opportunities is to observe and
discuss. These two abilities help one to connect ideas and perceptions,
which is necessary to build something that people need. The founders feel
that “As for the problems, no one can explain the problem in a better way
than the actual stakeholder in the process”. So, the most efficient way
they have found to date is to identify people who can discuss the problems
frankly, the issues, and underlying reasons for those problems, be it exist-
ing processes or the product. They believe that problem identification is
the first task and later, in handling these problems there can never be ‘one’
person who can do everything; therefore, start-ups need to understand this
as early as possible. So, to solve any major problem, they seek people,
friends, connections or even LinkedIn who can help them focus on their
work. This also helps them to remaining on-track and getting their devel-
opments validated regularly from these external parties.
In recent years, there has been a major push for digital develop-
ment in India, which in turn has made people more aware and tech-
trusting. Even for legal processes, they are witnessing a strong trust

b3844_Ch-[Link] 56 26-11-2020 7.28.55 PM

 6”x9” b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

Entrepreneurship Policy and Support Framework in India 57

factor in the market, which they feel would not have been present four
years ago.
As for the legal domain, one of the main hindrances is closed access.
It is difficult for those outside of the legal profession to get acquainted
with the law and understand the know-how of the market. Also, there has
by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

not been much emphasis from the government on reform of the legal sec-
tor and processes are not dissimilar to those of a decade or two ago. One
Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

of the other biggest hurdles is the recognition of the sector. There are not
a lot of government bids or ‘Call-for-Proposals’ that even consider legal
accessibility as a cause for the betterment of society. The same applies to
investors as well. If these things are addressed properly, the domain will
surely get a technical and infrastructure boost, which is crucial for the
ecosystem. There will be a huge upsurge if the government and investors
begin taking consideration of the legal-tech domain.

3.5.2 Raravis Innovations

Raravis Innovations aims to provide measurement solutions to Out of
Home (OOH) advertising agencies using computers and deep learning.
They are based in Delhi and operate from a co-working space provided by
the Design Innovation Center (DIC), University of Delhi. They started
building this venture in March 2019, and so far, have built their beta ver-
sion of the product. In this journey, they have been supported by HubSpot,
General Catalyst and Design Innovation Center and they are enrolled in
the prestigious, Y Combinator Startup School. By the end of 2020, they
aim to take this venture to international markets. The founders believe in
not only deciphering opportunities but that one must look outward with
alacrity and assess the market demand for services. The Government of
India’s initiative, ‘Startup India’ has been a great concept as well as a few
other government schemes that have assisted their journey. These include:

· Registration and recognition policy

· Startup patent filing process (80 percent reduction in fee)
· Startup Hub (they enlist various opportunities, resources and events on
a single platform)

b3844_Ch-[Link] 57 26-11-2020 7.28.55 PM

 6”x9”
b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

58 Vikas Singh, Shilpa Sindhu and Anupama Panghal

The most crucial and important thing any entrepreneur or startup

needs are mentorships, capital and infrastructure support to build a better
entrepreneurial ecosystem. Governments and/or institutions should focus
on providing these things to early-stage startups without any hesitation.
There should also be networking opportunities with potential investors,
by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

clients, governments and other stakeholders, organising regular events and

competitions. As Raravis are building a hardware and SaaS platform for
Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

the OOH advertising industry, the major problem they are facing is find-
ing talent in the hardware domain and getting it protected through patent
or copyright. They believe the government or other agencies should
ensure consultancy to early-stage ventures.

3.5.3 Apna Haat

Apna Haat provides free home delivery/instore access of sorted/graded,
digitally weighed, farm fresh produce at very competitive prices to con-
sumers in Gaziabad and Bangalore regions of India.
Apna Haat was started in March 2014, by a team of Agribusiness
management graduates in India, with Mr Sanjeev and Mr Vibhesh
Mishra as founders. Initially, it started with a home delivery model
only in the Gaziabad region of India, but after six months of operation,
the founders realised that going forward it can only be sustainable by
an omni-channel model. They opened their first physical store in
December 2015.
Apna Haat believes in the philosophy that “the hand that grows the
crop should be the one to earn from it”. The founders felt that intermediar-
ies in India are taking away the farmers’ share and making consumers pay
for it. Despite India being an agrarian economy, the political and social
system does not benefit the farmers. Therefore, this group of young agri-
business professionals are sensitive towards the needs of farmers and as
end consumers witnessing this discrepancy, decided to start a venture that
would bring the farmers’ products directly to consumers, thereby minimis-
ing the chain of intermediaries. At Apna Haat, consumers are getting fresh
fruit and vegetables at very reasonable prices, and of extremely good

b3844_Ch-[Link] 58 26-11-2020 7.28.55 PM

 6”x9” b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

Entrepreneurship Policy and Support Framework in India 59

quality and the farmers are getting the real monetary value of their prod-
ucts. The enterprise works on a two-pronged strategy:

1. Developing farmers & their economic well-being:

— Providing technical know-how to improve crop productivity &
by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

quality
— Encouraging use of technology to improve supply chain efficiency
Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

— Link to market/consumption to improve per unit return

2. Empowering agri-entrepreneurs & creating opportunities for the
socially underprivileged:
— Develop consolidators at farm level
— Develop pushcart vendors & small kirana stores
— Improve their earning capacities

Image 1: Apna haat founders, stores and initiatives

Source: Apna Haat.

b3844_Ch-[Link] 59 26-11-2020 7.28.58 PM

 6”x9”
b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

60 Vikas Singh, Shilpa Sindhu and Anupama Panghal

Apna Haat strongly believes in environmental sustainability which is

reflected in their initiatives like the ‘polythene ban’ and ‘refuelled’.
Startups like Apna Haat are serving society and giving a strong message
to the government as well as emerging entrepreneurs to take proactive
steps towards sustainability and empowerment.
by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.
Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

3.5.4 Wellversed Health

Wellversed Health is a tech-enabled health food manufacturing company
that was started in 2017 and facilitates the production of customised clini-
cal food products specific to the health requirements of demography or an
individual. The unique manufacturing framework developed by Wellversed
Health allows personalisation of food per clinical, dietary and physiologi-
cal demands of a particular health condition. This enables creation of
precision food with the desired nutrition composition and ingredients in a
quality-controlled environment.
The co-founders of Wellversed Health — Aanan Khurma, Aditya Seth
& Ripunjay Chachan — are alumni of Stanford Biodesign — a multidis-
ciplinary fellowship for Healthcare Innovation conceived through a
collaboration between Stanford University, AIIMS, and IIT Delhi.
This realm of food manufacturing represents a paradigm-shift for it
removes the need for large capital and dedicated machinery to manufac-
ture different products with different nutritional composition and ingredi-
ents. The team is working towards advanced machine learning algorithms
that will determine the right combination of ingredients and the precise
ratio of ingredients to achieve the desired nutrition level along with per-
fect taste profile and texture of the food product.
The founders believe that a preventive health mechanism is required
in India to promote a healthy life because a majority of health-related
problems arise through the wrong lifestyle choices.
Using demand data for personalised nutrition, the company realised in
late 2018 that there is a separate niche in the market for low carb health
products that are required by people with diabetes, thyroid and other
chronic issues. Wellversed launched a separate brand called Ketofy,
which is emerging as one of the leading low carb brands in India.

b3844_Ch-[Link] 60 26-11-2020 7.28.58 PM

 6”x9” b3844   Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India

Entrepreneurship Policy and Support Framework in India 61

by Mr. Vikas Sehrawat on 01/17/21. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.
Organising Entrepreneurship and MSMEs Across India Downloaded from [Link]

Image 2: Wellversed founders

Source: Wellversed Health.

3.6 Conclusion
Entrepreneurship in India is emerging and the complete ecosystem of the
country is in support of it. There is increasing scope for entrepreneurs in
the fields of agriculture, food processing, service sector and other indus-
tries. The Government of India is also coming up with supportive policies
and institutions to align + with the needs of entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs
are finding scope in niche areas of food, technology and sustainability.

b3844_Ch-[Link] 61 26-11-2020 7.29.00 PM

View publication stats