India’s demographic structure—where a significant majority of the population is young—creates a unique opportunity and an urgent need to convert a large cohort of job-seeking youth into job-creating entrepreneurs. Youth entrepreneurship combines risk-taking, innovation, and the application of skills to generate economic activity, employment, and social value. This paper provides a comprehensive, journal-ready treatment of youth entrepreneurship in India. It synthesizes literature on entrepreneurship and innovation, analyses government initiatives and institutional roles, examines major constraints faced by young entrepreneurs, and presents three detailed case studies highlighting successful interventions and failure lessons. The paper also offers empirical summaries and policy prescriptions aimed at building an inclusive, scalable entrepreneurial ecosystem for youth — especially women and rural youth. Using a mixed-methods approach drawing on secondary data, policy documents and illustrative case material, the study argues that while India has created a strong policy foundation (Startup India, MUDRA, AIM, Skill India, NISP, TIDE 2.0, ASPIRE), substantial gaps remain in finance accessibility, entrepreneurial education, gender-inclusive design, and rural digital infrastructure. Recommendations include targeted credit instruments for first-time entrepreneurs, mandatory entrepreneurship modules across higher education, strengthened incubation networks in Tier-2/3 regions, and gender-responsive interventions. The paper concludes that unlocking India’s demographic dividend will depend on coordinating policy, pedagogy, finance and infrastructure to make entrepreneurship a viable and attractive choice for youth across geographies and social groups.
CHALLOJU JYOTHSNA (Sat,) studied this question.
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