New Delhi, Aug 11 : The key drivers of the Indian growth story since the reforms movement was introduced have been innovation and entrepreneurship, said Dr Ashok Ganguly, member of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC).

Speaking at a Session on Entrepreneurship and Recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission here today, Dr Ganguly said that while these were the silver linings of the Indian growth story, the lack of skills development was a worrying factor.

He said that contrary to popular perception, entrepreneurship was a countrywide phenomenon and it was this that would propel the future Indian growth story. Here, Dr Ganguly said that it was for the industry to step forward and initiate steps to promote skills. The government, he said, could only be a facilitator and not a deliverer.

In this regard, he pointed to a NKC study on ‘Entrepreneurship in India’, which outlined that one in three entrepreneurs found it difficult to find candidates with the right skills.

The National Knowledge Commission (NKC) submitted its report on entrepreneurship to the government recently, stressing on the need to enhance entrepreneurship for employment generation and wealth creation.

The NKC study points out that if the local ‘best business practices’ as seen among today’s entrepreneurs were implemented on nationwide scale, India could substantially improve its ranking as a business destination.

Amongst the recommendations of the study are facilitation of information flow by developing handbooks on entrepreneurship, help in access to early-stage finance and establishment of secondary markets.

The entrepreneurship study also found that most entrepreneurs have to self-finance their dream projects; that information is not readily available to them; that a majority of entrepreneurs are undergraduates; and that the government is extremely unhelpful to entrepreneurs.

Dr Ganguly’s concerns on lack on skill development were also evident in the address by NKC Chairman Sam Pitroda.

Pointing out that Indian had the potential to become the workforce supplier to the world, he said that “in the next few decades, India will probably have the largest set of young people in the world. Given this demographic advantage, we are optimally positioned to leapfrog in the race for social and economic development.” (ANI)