'Farmers, vendors exhibit more entrepreneurship than Indian corporates'
Kolkata, May 11: India's small farmers and street vendors are exhibiting far more entrepreneurship than the country's corporate sector, Bibek Debroy, Chairman of the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, said here on Friday.
"Entrepreneurship cannot be taught but skills can be taught... let me tell you a small farmer exhibits far more entrepreneurship than the Indian corporate sector does. Let me remind you that the poor vendors on the streets of India are exhibiting far more entrepreneurship than the Indian corporate sector does," he said while addressing the Sixth Convocation of IMI-Kolkata.
He said one cannot encourage entrepreneurship without encouraging failure.
"We all think of successes of entrepreneurship; 95 per cent of entrepreneurial attempts failed," Debroy said.
Debroy, a member of NITI Aayog, also spoke of the need for the Indian education system
to facilitate or provide an enabling environment for entrepreneurship.
"...(there is a) huge question mark about whether Indian education system at all facilitates or provides enabling environment for entrepreneurship," the economist said.
When Prime Minister talks about Start Up India and Stand Up India, it is not about the corporate sector but is about entrepreneurship, he said.
Referring to an IMF report released after India opened up the economy in 1991, he said it had suggested it would take 153 years for a country like India to halve the gap in per capita income that exists with the developed countries.
"The lesson of the last couple of decades has been that there is no need to wait for 153 years," he said.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
