Role of Support Agencies in Nurturing Entrepreneurship in Eastern U.P.

Abstract

The paper is based on an empirical research study covering five districts of Varanasi Region of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. This region is one of the most backward areas of our country in terms of Entrepreneurial Development. It is characterized by high population growth, large-scale unemployment/under employment, subsistence agriculture, lack of infrastructure and abject poverty. Except for the traditional business communities, the spirit of enterprise, in general, is very low and the hankering for jobs is very high in the youth of this region. Thus, the region of eastern U.P. offers a very fit and challenging case in entrepreneurial development for both the support agencies as well as the researchers in this field. The paper has attempted to study the effectiveness of the role played by five key support agencies viz. District Industries Centre (DIC), U.P. Financial Corporation (UPFC), U.P. Industrial Consultancy Organization (UPICO), Udyog Bandhu and EDIUP; based on the assessment of the impact of their policies and programmes at the ground level. The study reveals that support agencies are still to go a long way to achieve their common goal of developing the region into a rich basin of entrepreneurship.