Business-government relationship for sustainable development of women entrepreneurship: an analysis of the Indian manufacturing sector

Women entrepreneurship is an essential driver of the economic growth of the nation. It promotes sustainable business practices and increases women’s participation in economic development. In this regard, government intervention plays a significant role in promoting women entrepreneurship. Thus, this study aims to investigate the impact of government intervention on the sustainable development of women entrepreneurs. This study uses the World Bank Enterprise Survey data set for India to investigate the objective. Using the Likert scale and regression analysis, it is found that women’s participation in entrepreneurship activity in India is much less than that of men. They are mostly interested in doing small business and are unable to get the benefits of government schemes for their business promotion. Regression results show that government support, tax inspection, and informal payment significantly impact the firm's sales, which are led by women entrepreneurs. Moreover, the female-owned enterprises increase their sales much more than the male-owned enterprises. Policymakers and economists should focus more on increasing female entrepreneurship to boost economic productivity. Further, the government should ensure the proper implementation of the government schemes so that women entrepreneurs can get the benefits. Tax rates and tax administration may give some relaxation to women-led enterprises to increase the number of women entrepreneurs for sustainable business practices and reduce gender inequality in business activity.