Background

Unemployment is the biggest challenge the country is facing in the process of its development. Lakhs of youth are entering the job market every year after completing their school/collegiate education. Non-availability of corresponding employment opportunities in the organised as well as unorganised sector has increased unemployment. The entry of automation and mechanization in every sphere of commerce and administration due to the advent of science and technology has further accentuated the problem. On the rural side, the employment potential in agricultural economy also appears to have reached a saturation level leading to large scale migration of manpower from rural areas to urban areas adding woes and pressure to already over strained civic infrastructure.

Millions of unemployed youth particularly from rural and semi-urban background who could not access higher professional education but oriented towards white collar jobs are driven to despair for not finding a job. Of late, these distressed youth are attracted towards antisocial activities for their livelihood. This tremendous waste of human resources and mismatch of potentiality with productive deployment has baffled the planners and administrators. The situation calls for urgent steps to provide increased employment opportunity in the rural and semi- urban areas itself to check the shifting of resources resulting in improved economic status.

All these clearly indicate the need for promoting self-employment entrepreneurial ventures among the unemployed youth and women. Of late, Government and Non Government agencies have taken certain initiatives and implementing many schemes to promote micro enterprises. However, the efforts seem to be inadequate against the gigantic unemployment problem.

An innovative initiative was taken way back in the year 1982 jointly by Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Educational Trust, Syndicate Bank and Canara Bank to motivate unemployed youth to take up self-employment as an alternative career. The unique experiment of building confidence of the youth by developing skill and positive attitude among them through dedicated training was found effective. The model has proved very successful for the past 22 years in building the morale of the youth and empowering them to acquire a productive identity by taking up self-employment ventures in their own places.

The success rate of 66 per cent and impact of RUDSET Institute training in enabling the youth to establish and sustain in the ventures was recognised and appreciated by Government of India, State Governments, SIDBI, NABARD, etc. Replication of the model was recommended to tackle the unemployment problem successfully and developing entrepreneurship.