The various business opportunities, for example, available in the environment include but are not confined to the following only:
1. Tourism:
By now, tourism has emerged as number one largest smokeless and fast growing industry in the world due to its ample promises and prospects. Presently, it accounts for 8% of the world trade and around 20 % of service sector in the world.
Evidences indicate that many countries have progressed from backward to developing to developed, mainly due to tourism development. For example, tourism industry contributes to more than 70% of the national income of some of the countries like Malaysia and Singapore. However, its share to the national income of India is still dismally low at 2.5%.
Though India shelters around 15 % of the world population with its 2.5% of the world territory, it accounts for only 0.40 % in the world tourism market. However, the prognostic picture of the Indian tourism is not because of lack of tourism potential, but because of unleashing of the ample tourism potential she is endowed with.
In fact, India too is a treasure trove for tourism development. She possesses long, unspoiled beaches of golden sands and swaying coconut trees; from winding trails that take you gently up the snowy slopes of a great mountain range like the Himalayas unfurling images of quaint, timeless communities; from sprawling forts and breathtaking palaces that hide in their bosoms so many tales of intrigue and ambitions, love and betrayal; from wildlife sanctuaries and sea worlds, Disney lands and shopping festivals.
There hardly appears to be a thing that is not worthy of some showering of tourist’s attention and attraction. Recognizing the India’s vast tourism potential, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has predicted: “India has potential to become number one tourist destination in the world with the demand growing at 10.1% per annum.”
2. Automobile:
India has made much headway in automobile industry and by now has emerges as a hot spot for automobiles and auto-components. A cost- effective hub for auto components sourcing for global auto makers, the automobile sector is by all indications a potential sector for entrepreneurs in India.
This is confirmed by a record increase registered by automobile industry in India. The automobile industry recorded a 26 per cent growth in domestic sales in the year 2009-10. It is India’s strong sales that have made her the second fastest growing automobile market after China in the world.
India being one of the world’s largest manufacturers of small cars with a strong engineering base and expertise, there are still many segments untapped and un-served those entrepreneurs can focus on in India’s automobile and auto components sector in future.
3. Textiles:
India is famous for its textiles since long time. What is worth mentioning that the style of apparel is unique from region to state, thus, offering a diversified market for apparel / textile products in the country? In view of this, India holds good potential to grow as a preferred location for manufacturing textiles taking into account the huge demand for garments.
Places like Tripura and Ludhiana are, for example, now export hubs for textiles in the country. A better understanding of the textiles markets and the varied customer needs can greatly help unleash the potential this sector holds in our country.
4. Social Ventures:
Like many other developmental activities, entrepreneurship development is also context-specific. The recent social issues providing a different entrepreneurial context has given emergence to yet another breed of entrepreneurship called’ social entrepreneurship. With a view to ameliorate the social fabric of the society, increasing number of entrepreneurs has started their social ventures.
SEWA and Lizzat Pappad, for example, are such two social ventures hardly get missed while mentioning about social entrepreneurship. Muhammad Yunus’s ‘Gramin Bank’ in Bangladesh is the worldwide known social venture of the recent times.
There is myriad of social issues or problems in the countryside in India, thus, offering opportunity to young entrepreneurs to plunge into this sector. However, plunging into social ventures is as much useful is so much challenging also.
5. Software:
India is known for its largest pool of world class software engineer’s world over. IT sector has contributed substantially to the Indian economy. With one of the largest pool of software engineers, Indian entrepreneurs can set higher targets in hardware and software development.
With more overseas companies outsourcing contracts to India, business to business solutions and services emerge as potential activities for the knowledge-based entrepreneurs in future. Entrepreneurs can cash in on the rise in demand for IT services with innovative and cost effective solutions.
6. Engineering Goods:
India continues to be one of the fastest growing exporters of engineering goods, growing at a rate of 30.1 per cent. The government has set a target of $110 billion by 2014 for total engineering exports. Entrepreneurs must capitalise on the booming demand for products from the engineering industry.
7. Franchising:
As a boon of New Economic Policy 1991 of the Government of India, India is now well connected with the world economies. Hence, franchising with leading brands to spread across the country could also offer ample opportunities for young entrepreneurs especially in services sector like education and health. With many small towns developing at a fast pace in India, there is vast scope for spreading franchising business in the countryside in future.
8. Education and Training:
Knowledge being power, on the one hand, and Government’s increasing emphasis on spreading education, on the other, there is a good demand for education and online tutorial services in the country. With good facilities at competitive rates, India can attract more students from abroad in coming years signs of which have already started. Need-based educational programmes with innovative teaching methods can help in a big way make education develop and flourish as an industry in the country.
9. Food Processing:
Broadly, food processing industries include cannery, meat packing plant, slaughterhouse, sugar industry, vegetable packing plants, industrial rendering, etc. India’s mainstay is agriculture. Entrepreneurs can explore many options in the food-grain cultivation and marketing segments. Inefficient management, lack of infrastructure, proper storage facilities leads to huge losses of food grains and fresh produce in India.
Unfortunately, very small portion of our food production is processed for manufacturing purposes as is evident from the following figures:
Likewise, the level of processing in perishable foods like fruits and vegetables (2.2%), milk and milk products (35%), meat (21%), poultry (6%) and marine products (8%) is also at a quite low level of total production. Thus, it is evident from above figures that there remains a lot of scope for agri-business or agri- preneurship development in the country. As such, entrepreneurs can add value to these produce with proper management and marketing initiatives. The processed food market opens a great potential for entrepreneurs be it fast food, packaged food or organic food.
That there will be more and more demand for readymade or processed food in coming days is already indicated by the meteoritic growth of Mumbai’s Dabbawala. Thus, food processing industry offers yet more opportunities for entrepreneurship development to establish and run food-based industries.
- Corporate Demands:
There will be a good demand for formal attire with more companies opening their offices in India. People who can meet this demand in a cost-effective way can make a good business. With corporate gifting getting very popular, this is also a unique business to explore in growing urban culture in India.
11. Ayurveda and Traditional Medicine:
India is well known for its herbal and Ayurvedic products. With increasing awareness about the ill-effects of allopathic medicines, there will be a huge demand for cosmetics, natural medicines and remedies in coming time.
12. Organic Farming:
Organic farming has been in practice in India for long time. That the importance of organic farming will assume increasing importance in the country is evident by the fact that increasing number of consumers especially foreigners have been preferring to only organic products.
Therefore, the prospective entrepreneurs can focus on business opportunities in this promising sector of the country. Yes, many small-time farmers have already adopted organic farming but the huge demand is still unmet which offers good opportunities for those agri-preneurs who can promote organic farming on a large-scale in the country.
13. Media:
The media industry has also huge opportunities to offer to young entrepreneurs. With the huge growth of this segment, any business in this field will help entrepreneurs reap huge benefits. Television, advertising, print and digital media have seen a boom in business in the recent times and is likely to grow more in coming times.
According to a report prepared by the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), digitisation, regionalisation, competition, innovation, process, marketing and distribution will drive the growth of India’s media and entertainment sector furthermore in coming times.
14. Packaging:
With China invading the markets with cheap plastic goods and packaging materials, there is a good opportunity to develop good packaging materials to meet domestic and foreign demand. There is a huge demand from various sectors like agriculture, automotive, consumer goods, healthcare infrastructure and packaging sectors for plastics.
15. Floriculture:
India’s floriculture segment is small and unorganized. There is a lot to be done in this lucrative sector. The global trade in floriculture products is worth $9.4 billion. With a 8 per cent growth, it is expected to grow to $16 billion by 2010. India’s share in world trade is just 0.18 per cent. This is a huge market to be tapped considering the rising demand for fresh flowers. More awareness and better farming and infrastructure can boost exports of flowers in coming times.
16. Toys:
Another evergreen industry is toy manufacturing. India has potential to manufacture cost-effective and safe toys for the world. With Chinese toys being pulled up for toxins, the market for safe and good quality, toys beckons Indian entrepreneurs.
- Healthcare Sector:
India’s healthcare sector dismal till the other day has now good prospects to develop in future. The private sector, that is, individual entrepreneurs can play a vital role in developing this sector. With medical tourism also gaining momentum, the sector can attract foreigners who are looking for cost- effective treatment in countries like India.
18. Biotechnology:
After the software sector, biotechnology opens a huge potential for entrepreneurs in India. Global evidences confirm that agricultural biotechnology has a major impact on agricultural productivity. That is why increasing emphasis has been given to research and development in the agro-biotech sector with an aim to produce crops with high level of tolerance against cold, heat and salinity.
A number of improved food products have also been developed. It is expected that with increase in investment in research and development in India, agro-bio technology will further develop and, in turn, Indian agriculture will develop. The future entrepreneurs can, therefore, look at a plethora of options available with the application of biotechnology in agriculture, horticulture, sericulture, poultry, dairy and production of fruits and vegetables.
- Energy Solutions:
In a power starved nation like ours, the need to develop cost-effective and power-saving devices is gaining ever increasing significance. There is a huge demand for low-cost sustainable energy saving devices as well. The government has already unveiled the National Solar Mission which has set a target of 20,000 MW of solar generating capacity by the end of the 13th Five Year Plan.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had urged the industry to see the huge business opportunity and set up ‘Solar Valleys’ on the lines of the Silicon Valleys. These solar valleys can become hubs for solar science, solar engineering and solar research, fabrication and manufacturing. So there is a big opportunity for entrepreneurs in this sector as well in our country.
20. Recycling Business:
E-waste will rise to alarming proportions in the developing world within a decade, with computer waste in India alone to grow by 500 per cent from 2007 levels by 2020, according to a UN study. Therefore, this sector also opens new vistas of viable business opportunity for entrepreneurs in terms of e-waste management and disposal activities in large size.
Recently, a national level conference on entrepreneurship called Entrepreneur India 2011 was held on July 15th and 16th at Hotel Claridges, New Delhi. The conference was built across the seven I’s of entrepreneurship:
(i) Inspire,
(ii) Ideate,
(iii) Individual,
(iv) Incubate,
(v) Innovate,
(vi) Invest, and
(vii) Internationalize to discuss and deliberate on Innovation and Entrepreneurship for unleashing business opportunities available in the country.
2 thoughts on “Business opportunities in Various Sectors”