ROLE AND CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS IN INDIA

Abstract

Social and economic development of women is necessary for overall economic development of any society or a country. Entrepreneurship is the state of mind which every woman has in her but has not been capitalized in India in way in which it should be. Due to change in environment, now people are more comfortable to accept leading role of women in our society, though there are some exceptions. Women entrepreneurs represent a group of women who have broken away from the beaten track and are exploring new avenues of economic participation. The reasons for women to run organized enterprises are their skill and knowledge, their talents, abilities and creativity in business and a compelling desire of wanting to do something positive. It is high time that countries should rise to the challenge and create more support systems for encouraging more entrepreneurship amongst women. The development of women entrepreneurship is low in India, especially in rural areas. Women entrepreneurs face lot of problems right from the beginning till the enterprise functions. In India, the women role has been explicitly recognized with a market shift in the approach from women welfare to women development and empowerment from the Fifth Five Year Plan (1974-79) onwards and today the significant role of women in entrepreneurship is constantly increasing due to various global factors. The Government of India has been implementing several policies and programmes for the development of women entrepreneurship in India. Despite all the social hurdles, Indian women stand tall from the rest of the crowd and are applauded for their achievements in their respective field. The transformation of social fabric of the Indian society, in terms of increased educational status of women and varied aspirations for better living, necessitated a change in the life style of Indian women. She has competed with man and successfully stood up with him in every walk of life and business is no exception for this. These women leaders are assertive, persuasive and willing to take risks. They managed to survive and succeed in this cut- throat competition with their hard work, diligence and perseverance. The present paper focuses on the role of women entrepreneurs in the development of India economy.