Entrepreneurs bullish on India's future: Survey

Entrepreneurs in India are optimistic about the country’s future, according to a new survey by the Legatum Institute, an independent think-tank based in London. 

A majority of respondents in the survey — Survey of Entrepreneurs: India’ — which polled 2,357 individuals, believes that the country is a good place for entrepreneurs to succeed.

The confidence among India’s senior managers, entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs — the country’s wealth-creators — is very high. Nearly 84 per cent believe India is headed in the right direction, and nearly 9 in every 10 people polled say they expect India to be in a stronger economic position in the next five years.

The two most important factors affecting India’s future growth, the survey shows, are making the government more business-friendly and cleaning up corruption.

Family is the main source of the entrepreneurial spirit and start-up funds in an economy, where entrepreneurs swear by ‘jugaad’, the Hindi word meaning ingenuity, often used to bypass stifling rules and corrupt practices. 

Two-thirds of the respondents believe Indians are more entrepreneurial than other nations, including their future superpower rivals China. More than half the respondents (53 per cent) are tipping themselves to create the world’s biggest economy within 20 years.