A study on financial constraints in promotion of rural entrepreneurship with reference to Sonitpur District of Assam

Rural entrepreneurship is a key to economic development in many countries. India is an emerging economy in today's world which is destined to achieve milestones in various fronts. However, for India, to acquire the status of a developed nation, it needs to improve the condition of the rural poor. There is need to strengthen employment opportunities in rural areas through rural entrepreneurship development. Banks have to take an important role in financing rural entrepreneurs. However, numerous problems arise in the process of entrepreneurship development. Therefore, the study tries to analyze the problems faced by banks and entrepreneurs in rural entrepreneurship development. Primary data was collected through survey method with the help of structured questionnaire and interview schedule. The data was collected from 30 rural branches of scheduled commercial banks and 356 rural entrepreneurs who availed bank loans from the branches. The results reveal that both banks and entrepreneurs face a number of problems in development of rural entrepreneurship. The findings of the study suggest that there is need for concerted effort by government, banking institutions and rural masses to enhance the growth of rural enterprises.