Entrepreneurship and Knowledge-Based Industries

Abstract

Indian Information Technology (IT) industry has tremendous potential to become an engine of growth and productivity improvement for all sectors of the economy and for the country. With the continued thrust on liberalization, in order to make IT products cost effective and price competitive, the use and penetration of computers in the society is fast expanding with special emphasis on multi-lingual technologies. Investment in knowledge based industries will determine a country's dominance in the next century. The software industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing sectors in the economy with a CAGR exceeding 50% over the last five years and with a likely turnover of US$ 6 billion and exports of US$ 4 billion during 1999-2000. The Government has targeted an export of US$ 50 billion by the year 2008 for the Indian software industry. What is Entrepreneurship? Is it creating wealth? Earning profits? Is it creating business and employment opportunities for others while making profits? Is it orchestrating different resources optimally? The spirit of Entrepreneurship is as old as human history, and it is dynamic nature has made it one of the most interesting science of the modem times. It would be appropriate to quote Kao & Stevenson (1984) 'Entrepreneurship is an attempt to create value through recognition of business opportunity and through communicative management skills to mobilize human, financial and material resources to bring a project to fruition." Entrepreneurship has a kaleidoscopic character, is essentially dynamic and changes its permutations and combinations from place to place, time to time and situation to situation. Business changes, valuations changes, technology changes, processes change and people and nations grow with it. Entrepreneurship responds to these changes and therefore is never static.