National Entrepreneurship Mission Proposed To Create 10 Lakh Enterprises, Up To 50 Lakh Jobs: Report

New Delhi, Aug 19 (KNN) A policy recommendation has proposed setting up a National Entrepreneurship Mission to create 10 lakh enterprises and up to 50 lakh jobs over five years by integrating India's existing startup and enterprise support schemes into a single system for first-time entrepreneurs.

The recommendation, titled Building India's Next 10 Lakh Entrepreneurs: A National Entrepreneurship Mission-Policy Recommendation 2026, was released by think tank The Bharat Project on Monday.

Integrated Support System for Entrepreneurs

The report said India needs an integrated entrepreneurship support system connecting existing schemes, institutions, capital, knowledge and markets rather than another standalone scheme, reported PTI.

India has the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, supported by initiatives such as the Startup India Seed Fund, Fund of Funds and the recently approved Rs 1 lakh crore RDI Fund. However, these programmes operate separately across ministries, forcing entrepreneurs to navigate multiple systems.

Common Digital Platform Proposed

The report recommended bringing schemes operated by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Department of Science and Technology (DST), Anusandhan National Research Foundation, MeitY, BIRAC, Ministry of MSME and financial institutions onto a common digital platform.

It proposed a lifelong ‘Entrepreneurship Passport’ for founders to provide continuity across different stages of business development.

District-Level Opportunity Maps and AI Support

Other recommendations include district-level Entrepreneurship Opportunity Maps, a national Idea Bank for aspiring entrepreneurs without a business idea, dedicated mentors for publicly funded ventures and a multilingual AI-based co-pilot for enrolled entrepreneurs.

The report also proposed structured market access through platforms such as Government e-Marketplace (GeM), Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and government procurement set-asides.

Entrepreneurship as an Employment Strategy

The report positioned entrepreneurship as a key component of India's employment strategy, citing the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24 youth unemployment rate of 10.2 percent and the India Employment Report 2024, which found that educated youth accounted for 65.7 percent of unemployed young people.

With around 12 million young people entering the workforce annually, the report called for greater integration of entrepreneurship into the education system.

Entrepreneurship Education to Focus on Practical Experience

The report recommended that the Ministry of Education lead the initiative by introducing entrepreneurship courses where students make an actual first sale instead of only taking written exams.

The Bharat Project and YourStory Media Founder and CEO Shradha Sharma said India already has world-class entrepreneurial support, but lacks a connected system to guide founders from one stage to the next.

(KNN Bureau)