Page 9 - E- Connect 2021
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Governments across the world aspire to create  local resources, have ecological integrity, involve
        opportunities equally for all the citizens and  connectedness and partnerships, and promote
        ensure that the benefits of development percolate  widespread understanding of how things get done.
        down to the most deprived. In India, efforts in this
        direction have been incorporated in public policy,  The peculiarity of India, in this context, firstly, is the
        addressed as Inclusive Development. Based on  scale of opportunities for entrepreneurship at the
        UNDP’s principles of human rights – participation,  grassroots level which is very wide. It is possible to
        non-discrimination and accountability, the policy  start a business in a street corner, in a kiosk, with
        lays down a myriad ways of pursuing these end  minimum possible resources and gradually expand
        goals. One such way is creation of productive and  the scale of activities. Secondly, there are number

        gainful employment opportunities at micro-level.  of social problems like population, unemployment,
        This requires a planned and well-executed effort  poverty, malnutrition etc, all of which open doors
        to develop a skill base to enable an absorption in  for innovative and enduring entrepreneurial
        existing businesses in the public and the private  solutions. Lastly, the role of the state machinery
        sector, or, alternatively, encourage entrepreneurial  in this context remains limited,  further requiring
        ventures.                                               strategic approaches to encourage entrepreneurial
                                                                initiatives.
        Employment opportunities in the formal public
        and private sector remain limited in face of the  ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’ is an ill-fated term. It almost
        colossal work force supply and requisite-skill gaps.  advocates that economically poor people are at
        This is why promotion of entrepreneurial effort  the bottom of all pyramids, that is knowledge,
        seems to be a logical and viable option. Business  ethics, institutions, or innovation pyramids. It does
        enterprises, particularly at the micro-level, not only  not direct our attention to the resources, in which
        enable self-employment; they also channelize the  economically poor people are perhaps really rich. It
        local human, technical and physical resources.  is well-known that for overall development agenda
        Efforts at localizing development or promoting  reliance cannot be placed only on the formal sector.
        entrepreneurship at grassroots’ level also allow us  If such was the case, farmers, artisans, laborers,
        to look at the bottom of the pyramid not merely  local communities etc., would not need to evolve
        as deprived consumers but as a source of ideas  local solutions for so many problems which have
        and innovation, whose economic exploitation and  been neglected in the past and are still not being
        commercialization,  in  turn,  can  have  extended  addressed adequately by the formal system. We
        benefits towards local community development.           need to support innovations at the grassroots so
                                                                that several opportunities can be created that may
        Besides, inventive thinking has always been  have remained unexplored for the socio-economic
        fundamental for improving societal well-being.  development of poor people.
        Inventions and innovation over the years have
        been largely responsible for supporting a
        population which has shown exponential growth.
        In the same vein, contemporary innovations could
        very well prove that an economic development
        which is sustainable is viable. Successful
        sustainable development efforts, in turn are
        rooted  in  communities,  involve  efficient  use  of
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