"Help develop entrepreneurial mindset in students" says Planning Commision's Report on Entrepreneurship

The Indian Planning commission has released a report on entrepreneurship in India. It is an extensive report on the current positions, trends, future and needs of the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem. Important mentions and recommendations have been made to the students and educational institutions of the country, urging them to encourage and indulge in entrepreneurship.A plea to the Educational Institutes of the country

The planning commission report specifically urges educational institutions of the country to breed and promote entrepreneurship. In explicit words, the report says:

“Educational institutions impart not only technical and business skills but also help develop an entrepreneurial mindset in students. These institutions in India can help promote entrepreneurship through more and improved courses and programs, increased collaboration with other parts of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and greater focus on innovation and its commercialization. Media also plays an important role in developing an entrepreneurial culture by disseminating entrepreneurial success stories.”

It has also made some key recommendations for better staff at the helm of Institutions. In its own words, it suggests the following:

A. More holistic student selection process could be followed to select a more diverse set of students from different backgrounds:

i) Weights of standardized tests in the selection process could be reduced. For example, current weight for the tests is 100 per cent at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), 30-50 per cent at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs)82.

ii) Focus can be shifted to individuality and originality of students to ensure multidimensional background and student profile (around 90per cent students at the top B-schools, the IIMs, are engineers83 84 85).

B. Recruitment norms for administrative roles need to be redefined:

i) Key administrator and director should preferably have entrepreneurial or investment background, and could be an ex-entrepreneur, investor, or fund manager

ii) The concept of “resident” administrators should be introduced, wherein the administrators can be those investors and entrepreneurs who are on sabbatical

Benefits for students pursuing entrepreneurship

The report has further gone on to suggest benefits to students who wish to pursue entrepreneurship. It has implored systems to take initiatives that make entrepreneurship thrive in educational institutions. Some recommendations are as follows –

“Encourage students to work with start-ups or explore entrepreneurial ventures upon completing the course

A. Deferred placements after two years should be made available to those students who create or join start-ups. This system is currently prevalent in a limited number of institutions and should be extended

B. Special fellowships and programs could be developed with funding from government or large businesses for graduating students who take up entrepreneurship immediately after graduating. Internship and interaction programs with start-ups could be initiated to help develop a culture of working with start-ups

C. Business-plan competitions at educational institutions should be run through entrepreneurship centers. These could involve sizeable funding of more than Rs 10 lakh (around $20,000) raised by involving angel investors and VCs and by sourcing direct seed funding through incubators for winners”

You can find the complete report here.