The Hindu Business Line : `Entrepreneurship is no longer confined to family-run businesses'

Ahmedabad June 11 Describing the Essar Group he chairs as "serial entrepreneurs", Mr Shashi Ruia has predicted that the coming years would see the rise of new entrepreneurs unlike the family-inherited businesses of the past.

"There has not been a better time in India to reach out and touch the horizon... This tells me that entrepreneurship is no more limited to family-managed businesses in India," he told the Ninth Convocation of the Entrepreneurship Institute of India as the chief guest.

The fact that there are students in the field of New Enterprise Creation, agri-entrepreneurship and services besides family managed businesses indicates the diversity as well as the direction of our economy. "What impresses me most is that almost 30 per cent of you are from the NGO sector."

Narrating the rise of Essar Group, he said the first seed of entrepreneurship was sown in his mind at the Marina Beach when he was a 12-year-old. "I said to myself if I own a ship, maybe I could touch the horizon."

The creation of Essar was born out of necessity, upkeep and well-being of the Ruia family. "From a small beginning - constructing a break water for Chennai Port - we took the bold and unprecedented step of acquiring a ship to transport petroleum products - a domain of international and Shipping Corporation of India vessels only." The diversification into other businesses of steel, power, communication, oil and gas is a story well known and chronicled... "With so many businesses and such a large asset base, we at Essar could be called serial entrepreneurs."

Mr Ruia stated that India's "archaic laws and the plethora of taxes" do not augur well for the growth of the economy and international competitiveness. The so-called single windows of clearance do not work well except in one or two States. A lot of entrepreneurs have moved out of India because of the complicated laws and education system. Only recently have our youngsters realised the potential of being in India, he said.

He advocated a radical change in the education system, which stresses the need for stability and conformity rather than risk and "out-of-the-box" thinking.