Economic Reforms and Tribal Entrepreneurship

The economic reforms in the last decade have mixed consequences in India. The business environment in the country is considered conducive for achieving high levels of sustainable growth. The Scheduled Tribe Population (8.2%) is known for their unique way of life, customs, traditions, beliefs and practices and they are scattered all over the country. While the conditions of the tribes have improved over the years, their situation vis-a-vis the rest of the population may even have worsened on various counts of development. India’s economic reforms and the other policies on tribal development recognises that majority of the Scheduled Tribes people are living below the poverty line, have poor literacy rates, suffer from malnutrition, diseases and vulnerable to displacement. The main objective of the policies are to facilitate the overall development and welfare of the tribal people. With this background, this book systematically investigates the socio-economic status of the tribal entrepreneurs, policies and programmes for entrepreneurship, motivational factors; the role of ITDP, KVIC and Banks in promoting entrepreneurial activities, sources of finance and other problems faced by the tribal entrepreneurs, impact of entrepreneurship on the family members in the tribal area. This book consists of chapters such as Introduction; District profile of the Kheri District of Uttar Pradesh and a brief description of the Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP) activities; socio-economic profile of the respondents as well as their health status; education, awareness, contacts with various agencies and training of the respondents; establishment and investment pattern of the enterprises/business; the utilisation, marketing and other problems of the respondents; employment and income generation through the entrepreneurial activities; the economic reforms in the study area. It also focuses on the overall impact of entrepreneurship on the families of the tribal respondents and summary and conclusion. This book is immense useful to students, researchers, teachers and policy makers.