Archive · 18 Aug 2026
Policy blueprint proposes National Entrepreneurship Mission for 10 lakh enterprises
In India, a group called The Bharat Project has made a big suggestion to help people start their own businesses.
They want the government to connect all the different programs that already exist to support new business owners.
This way, a person starting a business would get help at every step, from the first idea to selling products.
They call this big plan the National Entrepreneurship Mission.
The goal is to create ten lakh new businesses and up to fifty lakh new jobs in five years.
Ten lakh means one million, and fifty lakh means five million.
The plan says each new business owner would get a special 'Entrepreneurship Passport' to guide them on their journey.
It also suggests students learn about business by actually making their first sale instead of taking a written exam.
The idea comes from the fact that many young people in India are looking for work and having a hard time finding it.
This plan is only a suggestion for now, and it would use money and programs that already exist rather than needing lots of new funding.
Think tank The Bharat Project released a policy blueprint recommending a National Entrepreneurship Mission to create 10 lakh enterprises and up to 50 lakh jobs in five years.
The Mission would converge schemes from DPIIT, DST, the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, MeitY, BIRAC, the MSME ministry and financial institutions onto a single digital spine.
Proposals include a lifelong 'Entrepreneurship Passport', district-level Entrepreneurship Opportunity Maps, a national Idea Bank, and a multilingual AI co-pilot for entrepreneurs.
The blueprint cites a 10.2 per cent youth unemployment rate (PLFS 2023-24) and the finding that educated youth account for 65.7 per cent of unemployed young Indians.
It recommends entrepreneurship courses end in a real first sale and proposes measuring public support by sustainable enterprises created per crore of public expenditure.
- Who
- The Bharat Project, a think tank founded and led by Shradha Sharma (also CEO of YourStory Media), released the blueprint aimed at the Indian government and ministries such as DPIIT, MeitY and the Ministry of Education.
- What
- A policy recommendation proposing a National Entrepreneurship Mission that connects existing startup and enterprise support schemes to create 10 lakh enterprises and up to 50 lakh jobs in five years.
- When
- Released on Monday, August 19, according to the PTI report.
- Where
- India; the report was issued from New Delhi.
- Why
- To address high youth unemployment — 10.2 per cent per PLFS 2023-24 — and to turn existing support schemes into one continuous entrepreneurial journey, given roughly 12 million young people join the workforce each year.
- Proposal
- National Entrepreneurship Mission via policy blueprint
- Released by
- The Bharat Project (think tank)
- Target
- 10 lakh enterprises and up to 50 lakh jobs in five years
- Youth unemployment rate
- 10.2 per cent (PLFS 2023-24)
- Educated youth share of unemployed
- 65.7 per cent (ILO-IHD India Employment Report 2024)
- New workforce entrants per year
- About 12 million
- Implementation roadmap
- 15 months
- Funding approach
- Convergence of existing funds and programmes (e.g., Startup India Seed Fund), not significant new expenditure