Tuijin Jishu/Journal of Propulsion Technology

ISSN: 1001-4055
Vol. 44 No. 4 (2023)
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Women Entrepreneurship in North-East

India
Goriyashi Mahanta1, Himakshi Devi2, Tania Parbin Moutushi3
1
Doctoral Research Scholar, University of Science and Technology Meghalaya, India
2
Doctoral Research Scholar, University of Science and Technology Meghalaya, India
3
Doctoral Research Scholar, Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University, Nalbari, India
Corresponding Author: Goriyashi Mahanta

Abstract:
Entrepreneurs are seen as national assets to be motivated, cultivated and remunerated to the greatest degree possible.
Entrepreneurs develop innovative ideas that provide civilization with a large number of products and services which
change the way we work and live. The benefits they offer are by creating job opportunities, improving standard of
living and contributing to the overall growth of the economy. The present study focuses on scenario to of women
entrepreneurship in the North Eastern state of India - prospects and challenges of woman entrepreneurship , along
with the promotional policies relating women entrepreneurship for the future In view of the ever increasing
problems facing the women entrepreneurs. The North Eastern Region of India (NER) is unique in terms of growth
opportunities because it has the potential to become India's economic powerhouse, with a thriving source of energy,
oil, natural gas, coal, and limestone, as well as the world's largest perennial water system in the Brahmaputra and its
tributaries. As most of the population live in rural area in North East region due to lack of education and skill
development courses of entrepreneurship, it is very difficult to growth of woman entrepreneurship in North East
India. Education has been instrumental in increasing the participation of women in entrepreneurial activities.
Government should provide batter educational facilities and schemes to women folk. A Women Entrepreneur's
Guidance Cell should be set up to handle the various problems of women entrepreneurs all over North East Region.

Keywords: Government, tributaries, various, scenario, entrepreneurship

Introduction:
Entrepreneurship is critical to the economic growth and development of a country or an area within a country. The
development of entrepreneurship is critical for both national and social development. It is very important to grow
our rural sector in order to improve the north-east region as a whole. One of the most significant and crucial features
of north east India is economic development has been the growth of small and micro industries. The problem of
unemployment and appropriate utilization of both human and non-human resources, as well as improving the living
conditions of the poor masses, is small-scale entrepreneurship (Singh, 2009).The North Eastern region of India
comprises of eight States- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. This
region is one of the biodiverse regions of the entire country. A North East Indian state occupies 7.9 % of the total
geographical area of the nation. Gender equality is a very important factor to long term growth of an economy. As
traditional society prevails north east region man are more prefers and get more opportunity than woman. North-east
Indian states accounts for only 4% of total establishment by women in India and women entrepreneur of this region
provides only 3.76% of employment provided by women entrepreneurs in the whole country. Therefore,
enhancement of the entrepreneurial capabilities of women is much needed at present. Entrepreneurship development
and income generating activities are a feasible solution for empowering women. Women entrepreneurship programs
have gained momentum by encouragement, appropriate awareness, training, environment and support. This has
improved the socio-economic status, which is a pre-requisite of women’s empowerment. Woman entrepreneurs face

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gender based barriers to starting and growing their business including discriminatory property, matrimonial and
inheritance laws and cultural practices , limited mobility , voice and representation and unequal share of family and
household responsibilities. These factors combined with social exclusion based on sex mean that woman
entrepreneurs are less favorable position than man. Treating the women with equality of opportunities is very much
required. Every region has its own problems and prospects for the development of entrepreneurship and the North
Eastern Region is not an exception to that.

Review Of Literature:
Syed Shah Alam, Mohd Fauzi Mohd Jani, Nor Asiah Omar (May 2011) investigated the key factors which affects
the success of women entrepreneurs in Southern region in Malaysia. The results suggested that family support,
social ties and internal motivation affect positively and significantly to the success of women entrepreneurs in the
small business. It had also shown that in the past, women rarely ventured into business not because of lack of
interest but because of lack of opportunities A study done in the United Kingdom concluded that the gap between
male and female entrepreneurs in the region was closing due to the wide opportunities which are being created all
over the world for women entrepreneurs to open up businesses.
Seema Goswami (2002), in her book says that during the span of 50 years the status of women has undergone
changes which expands the sub-cultural base of westernization, in which the women by their very nature had family
increasingly face pressure of fission due to economic, cultural and social reorientation of its function and obligations
According to M. Aminul Islam, a woman of her ability can do everything if she desires to do so. They are not only
cooks; they are now breadwinners as well. The economic contribution of women through the magnitude of their
unpaid labour is immense. They have proved their mettle in various fields, including higher education, teaching,
politics, sports, medical as well as scientific research, information technology, air and water, peacekeeping missions,
nursing, wartime, agriculture, construction, business, public and private job sectors, policing, journalism and many
more fields. But still women are becoming the victims of social vices like rape, acid attacks, sexual abuse and
dowry-related violence
According to Limbu and Bordoloi (2015), women in rural Assam have a lot of difficulties in running their
businesses, and some females even avoid going into business because of the high failure rate.
V Krishnamoorthy and R Balasubramani (April 2014), identified the important women entrepreneurial motivation
factors and its impact on entrepreneurial success. The study identified ambition, skills and knowledge, family
support, market opportunities, independence, government subsidy and satisfaction are the important entrepreneurial
motivational factors. The study also concluded that ambition‘, knowledge and skill‘, independence ‘dimensions of
entrepreneurial motivational has significant impact on entrepreneurial success.
Tambunan, Tulus, (2009) focused in his article mainly on women entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises
based on data analysis and review of recent key literature. This study found that in Asian developing countries
SMEs are gaining overwhelming importance; more than 95% of all firms in all sectors on average per country. The
study also depicted the fact that representation of women entrepreneurs in this region is relatively low due to factors
like low level of education, lack of capital and cultural or religious constraints.
Dr. Sunil Deshpande & Ms. Sunita Sethi, Shodh, Samikshaaur Mulyankan(Oct.-Nov.-2009) in their research paper
exhibits the encouraging and discouraging factors in an enterprise and to provide solutions to the various problems
faced by the women entrepreneur group. For the betterment of women entrepreneur emphasize should be on
educating women strata of population, spreading awareness and consciousness amongst women to outshine in the
enterprise field, making them realize their strengths, and important position in the society and the great contribution
they can make for their industry as well as the entire economy.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (2004) stated that women entrepreneurs have been
recognized as an important source of economic growth which is still untapped. Through creating new jobs for
themselves and for others, women entrepreneurs provide their contribution to society and economy by solving
various problems related to management organization and business.

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In a study on entrepreneurs of Northeast India, Sinha (2003) claimed that the women entrepreneurs of Northeast
India have enough potential to take up entrepreneurship as their career. An enterprise may be a small shop or an
advanced technology-based industry and entrepreneurs cannot be differentiated in terms of their business.
Entrepreneurs can only be differentiated in terms of their lifestyle, attitude, value and behavior. Author made a study
on 400 men and women entrepreneurs in Northeast region and found that for women entrepreneurs, setting up an
enterprise is it difficult job and at the same time it is very difficult for them to run it with profitability.

Importance Of Study:
An entrepreneur is an economic leader who can spot prospects for the effective introduction of new goods,
processes, and sources of supply, “as well as assemble plant and equipment, labour, and arrange them into a
concern. Entrepreneurship is the process of identifying opportunities and putting in place the resources needed to
take advantage of them. An entrepreneur encourages capital production and wealth creation in society, hence
lowering unemployment and poverty. Experience with various programs have highlighted the benefits of formation
of women’s groups for building confidence and focusing on developmental tasks. Different groups in various states
all over the country have focused on skill development and awareness generation, promoting economic development
through income generating activities, inculcating thrift and credit management activities among poor women.
Access to and control over economic and financial resources is a critical component of economic development in
any country. Gender equality and women empowerment is required for sustainable and inclusive growth not only in
Northeast region but all over India. In this matter, the women entrepreneurs can play in influential rule in North East
Indian states. Women of the North East are now playing a proactive role in all walks of life but in the field of
business, it has not been a very easy journey for them to enter the threshold of a man’s arena Today, North Eastern
women have also move beyond the known and have ventured into the less traversed sectors in entrepreneurship One
of the most eco-friendly sites in the map of India.

Objective Of Study:
1. Study about present status of woman entrepreneurship in north east India.
2. Scope and challenges of woman entrepreneurship in north east India.
3. Give suggestion to solve the problem of encouragement of woman entrepreneurship.

Methodology:
A systematic study in any branch needs a pre-determined and well thought out methodology to find out the truth.
There are in fact, a number of methods that may be applied for the purpose of research work. Secondary data have
been used, sources like DIC, Circle Offices, BDO offices, offices of Extra Assistant Commissioners and different
institutions of the district has been explored to collect secondary data schedule. For the secondary data text books,
research articles, government policies and strategies regarding women entrepreneurship development have been
used in order to present the fact and findings in the logical format.

Present Status of Woman Entrepreneurship:

In India, out of total 18,02,991 establishments; 78% are owned by men and 22% are owned by women. In this way,
total number of proprietary establishments in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam is 173 and 89,275 in which 56% and
33% have women owners. In Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya, total number of proprietary establishments is
56,861; 2,319 and 3,703 respectively. In Nagaland and Sikkim 44% and 41% establishments are owned by women.
But, in Tripura, out of 10,588 establishments only 11% are owned by females [Sixth Economic Census (2013-14),
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation].
Among the North eastern states, Assam has the largest number of establishments by women without hired worker
and also has largest number of establishments by women with at least one hired worker among North eastern states.

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Employment provided by women entrepreneurs is highest in Assam (2, 53,072) and lowest in Sikkim (9066).
[Source-Sixth Economic Census (2013-14), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.]

Figure-1: Distribution of proprietary establishment by sex of owner (in percent) Source- Authors own
calculation from Sixth Economic Census (2013-14), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation

State Male Female

Arunachal Pradesh 44 56
Assam 67 33
Manipur 20 80
Meghalaya 46 54
Mizoram 61 39
Nagaland 56 44
Tripura 89 11
Sikkim 59 41
India 78 22

When an entrepreneur is the only owner of an establishment, it is called proprietary. In other words, proprietaries are
owned by a single individual. In India, out of total 18, 02,991 establishments; 78% are owned by men and 22% are
owned by women. In Northeast India accept Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya percentage of male establishment is
higher than the female establishment.

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Vol. 44 No. 4 (2023)
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State wise female establishment in Northeast India (Figure 2)

State No. of Female

Arunachal Pradesh 6413

Assam 154158
Manipur 88286
Meghalaya 29530
Mizoram 15828
Nagaland 13657
Tripura 14506
Sikkim 5304

Source: Source-Sixth Economic Census (2013-14), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

In North East India, the number of establishments by women is highest in Assam (1, 54,158) and lowest in Sikkim
(5304).

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State wise total number of persons employed under women entrepreneur (Figure 3)
State Without hired With at least one hired Total Percentage share
worker worker employment in total
employment by
woman
entrepreneur in
India

Arunachal 5493 8586 14079 0.1

Pradesh
Assam 162675 90397 253072 1.88
Manipur 96938 13884 110822 0.82
Meghalaya 28625 30076 58701 0.44
Mizoram 15940 10387 26327 0.2
Nagaland 14290 13233 27523 0.2
Tripura 5439 3627 9066 0.07
Sikkim 14951 2929 19880 0.15

Source-Sixth Economic Census (2013-14), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

The table given above shows the total number of persons employed under women entrepreneurs in the eight North
eastern states. In India, the total number of persons employed under women entrepreneur is 1,34,48,182. Among the
North eastern states, Assam has the largest number of establishments by women without hired worker and also has
largest number of establishments by women with at least one hired worker among North eastern states.

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Scope of Woman Entrepreneurship:
The North Eastern region of India is rich with abundant natural and human resources and there is ample scope for
agro-based industries, handloom and handicrafts, dairy industry, organic fruit and vegetable processing etc. North
Eastern region’s economy is an agrarian economy with abundant natural resources, still it remains underdeveloped
mainly because lack of entrepreneurship. The environment of an underdeveloped region is also not conducive for the
emergence of entrepreneurship. In the North East India there is tremendous scope for agro-based industries, agro
forestry, horticulture, mushroom farming, herbal, medicinal and aromatic plants, organic fruits and vegetables
processing, handlooms and handicrafts, bee keeping, meat and poultry products, cereal based products, consumer
industry, milk and milk based products, food processing, paper products, jute and mestas products, cattle rearing,
fishery, edible oil, processing of oils and fragrances, gas based intermediary products, floriculture, spices production
and processing wood based products etc. Women from the region have realized the potential resources of the region
and have initiated various entrepreneurial activities in order to tap the natural wealth of the region.

Challenges Of Woman Entrepreneurship:

The present study reveals that the proportion of women entrepreneurs in north eastern States to total number of
women entrepreneurs in the country it quite discouraging. There exists a gender gap in participating entrepreneurial
activities in North east India. Most of the North eastern states hardly account for 0.5 % of total women entrepreneur
in the country. The main reasons include
1. Lack of awareness and dynamism
2. Insignificant entrepreneurial zeal and motivation
3. Lack of managerial and marketing skills
4. Problem of unemployment and jobseekers
5. Inadequate finance and infrastructure support system.
6. Lack of education and practical training amongst women entrepreneurs
7. Non participation in the decision making process
8. Socio-religious-political barriers
9. Lack of self-confidence and optimistic attitude
10. Introvert, dependent and shy by nature
11. Inappropriate social security
12. Mostly preoccupied with household activities and responsibilities.

Suggestions And Conclusion:

In view of the ever-increasing problems facing the women entrepreneurs, it appears that since there is a long way to
go in terms of social revolution and transformation of prevailing notions and attitudes. The study reveals that if
women gets opportunities they can come out from kitchen and take active part in economy of the state and
contribute for the well-being of their families. It is observed from the study that the emerging trend of women
entrepreneurial development in small and tiny business and industry is not up to the mark. In order to develop
entrepreneurship in North East India, it has been suggested that the following ideas be put forward:

• The government should urge banks to publish and distribute brochures and booklets in local languages regarding the
financial and non-financial help available at each bank and district industries centre (DIC) to potential and current
enterprises.
• Promoting entrepreneurship among women is especially important to tackle the problems of under employment and
unemployment in the society.
• Education has been instrumental in increasing the participation of women in entrepreneurial activities. Government
should provide better educational facilities and schemes to women folk.

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• Creating provision of micro credit system and enterprise credit system linked with SHGs to the women
entrepreneurs at local level with low rate of interest.
• Positive attitude in the society recognizing the role of women as entrepreneur may lead to the development of
appropriate environment in which women will be able to exploit their entrepreneurial talents.

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