The Role of Startups in Job Creation: A Case Study of India's Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

1. Abstract Approximately two million Indian people enter the labor force each year. Many of them are youths who urge the Indian government to be more concerned with job creation (Nawangpalupi et al.,2015, p.9). In order to increase the number of jobs, the Indian government cannot rely solely on the public sector or big private sector but must also consider SMEs and startups. Because SMEs in India already hold quite significant roles and have specific strategies, in order to raise numbers of employment, India should further support entrepreneurship. Data from the government (as cited in EYGM, 2013) state that around 4 million entrepreneurs are needed to support developments and support new comers’ potential. The number needed is nearly 2% of a 254.5 million population in India(World Bank, 2014). Effective strategies, collaboration and coordination are steps that the Indian government has to make in order to boost the number of entrepreneurs in India. Not only that, long term are plans and supports to assist existing entrepreneurs also critically needed. Having better knowledge and bigger pictures regarding entrepreneurship and startup ecosystem status in India has become an important phase before making those policies. In addition, India currently ranks 103rd out of 132 countries and ranks 18th in the Asia-Pacific region surveyed by GEDI (2016) meaning India has a relatively low quality of entrepreneurship conditions. This condition cannot seriously improve without effective knowledge and strategies to assess what must be done first within the government, private sector and even the general public.