An entrepreneurship development programme has been defined as “a programme designed to help a person in strengthening his entrepreneurial motive and in acquiring skills and capabilities necessary for playing his entrepreneurial role efficiently”.
EDP was first introduced in Gujarat in 1970 and was sponsored by the Gujarat Industrial Investment Corporation. EDP is basically a device through which people with entrepreneurial talents are identified, motivated to take up new industrial venture and guided in all aspects of starting a venture or an enterprise.
The following are the main objectives of EDP:
(1) Paster entreprenurial growth : The main objective is to increase the rate of all round entrepreneurial growth through training and educating them to develop the capability, talent and skills of existing entrepreneur.
(2) Optimum use of available resources : Another important objective is to use available resources to optimum level which result into minimisation of wastages and reduction in the overall cost of production. It also saves the invaluable resources for the future generation.
(3) Development of backward regions and improve economic status of socially disadvantage group : Its main objective is to establish different types of industries and business enterprise in the backward regions of the country. This leads to more employment opportunities and more income and savings of the people in backward group. By providing employment and other benefits to socially disadvantaged groups, EDP helps to improve their economic status.
(4) Generation of Employment opportunities :
One of the important objectives of EDP is to generate employment opportunities for jobless people in the country by developing industries and business for them.
(5) Widening base for small and medium industries : The EDP helps to create, develop and widen the base for small and medium industries by strengthening them and create more and more entrepreneurs in the country. It helps in making country a job creator and not job seeker.
