Minority entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship development programmes - a study with reference to Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts

The social base of entrepreneurship is an important factor influencing the pace of economic development. If certain social groups alone produce a large and capable body of entrepreneurs, the means for such impetus may be of relevance and use to the entire society. Minority entrepreneurship continues to be an important facet of the small business mainstream. Minority businesses have been the subject of growing interest from a variety of sources in recent years for a number of reasons. Entrepreneurship in minority communities can also contribute to reducing social exclusion and contributing to raising living standards in groups that can be often among the more disadvantaged in society. Moreover, because of a tendency for minorities to concentrate in particular localities, the development of some local economies, and the standard of living within them, may be heavily influenced by the nature and extent of minority business development. Minorities are under represented in terms of self employment and small business ownership. EDP has played a very significant role in Indian Industrial development particularly in the development of Small Scale Sector. The objective of EDP is to provide orientation and awareness pertaining to various managerial and operational functions of the organization like finance, production, marketing, enterprise management, banking formalities, book keeping etc. In fact, trained entrepreneurs become catalysts of industrial development and economic progress. The present study aims to identify the impact of Entrepreneurship Development Programmes on Minority Entrepreneurs.