If we read through the Man Booker Prize Winner The White Tiger by Arvind Adiga, there is clear mention that India as a land has flourished because we as Indians have the mettle to take on risks of being an entrepreneur which not many other people in other countries would take up.

Entrepreneurship is largely in our blood and our instincts. But in this world that is today defined by cut throat competition a formal education in how to be a good entrepreneur with fierce business skills and the ability to take calculated risks as and when the situation demands would be a feather in the cap.

Dream of being an Entrepreneur.

Many individuals dream of being their own bosses and bringing to our economy something new and different that would set them apart from the crowd. Many employees are leaving their secure and well paying jobs to shape up their dreams and build a venture of their own. For such individuals who seek to create their own skies and their own limits, India now offers very many courses that could help bring their dream to reality.

No being an entrepreneur is no longer just about taking risks, one can prepare for what lies ahead, learn the various nuances of business and work towards a more goal-oriented business setup that from the beginning itself is profit and quality driven.

Some of the courses in entrepreneurship

• Advanced Diploma in Enterprise Management, Duration: 6 months, Eligibility: Graduation, preferably with work experience of 5 - 10 years.
• Certificate Course in Export Marketing, Duration: 4 months, Eligibility: Graduation
• Certificate Course in International Business Language, Duration: 5 months , Eligibility: Graduation.
• Certificate Course in International Trade Logistic, Duration: 4 months, Eligibility: Graduation.
• Diploma/Certificate Courses in Entrepreneurship, Duration: 6 months- 1 year, Eligibility: Graduation/ Diploma/10+2 with 3 yr. Exp.
• Diploma in Entrepreneurship, Duration: 9 months, Eligibility: Graduation
• Diploma in Planning and Entrepreneurship, Duration: 2 years, Eligibility: 10+2, awaiting results
• Executive Masters in International Trade, Duration: 1 year, Eligibility: Graduation
• Executive MBA+M.Com/PGDBA, Duration:2 years, Eligibility: Graduation, appearing for final exam.
• Executive Postgraduate Program, Duration: 3 years, Eligibility: Graduation (55%)
• Executive Postgraduate Diploma in Management, Duration: 3 years, Eligibility: Bachelor's/Master's degree with 5 years exp.
• Fellow Program in Management (Doctoral Level), Eligibility: B.E. M.E. P.G
• BA (General-Human Resource Development Marketing, Operations Research and Finance), Duration: 2 years 6 months, Eligibility: Graduation
• PG Diploma in International Business/Entrepreneurship/Small Business and Management of Services
• PG Diploma in Management of Small and Medium Enterprises, Duration: 1 year, Eligibility: Graduation
• PGDBA, Duration: 2 years, Eligibility: Graduation
• PGDBM, Duration: 2 years, Eligibility: Graduate
• Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship Management (PGDEM), Duration: 9 months, Eligibility: middle level executive
• PGDEM, Duration: 6 months, Eligibility: Graduation

Our country offers varied opportunities to succeed in the entrepreneurial sector. With the right skills, right decision making instincts and a proper formal education about how to succeed in this field you can surely find yourself as the next best thing in our corporate world. As the courses are designed in such a manner that they would hone all the right talents in you to be a world-class entrepreneur with least monetary investment and risk as their core.

Today, organizations, in a quest to engage/retain their star performers are providing them with a platform to hone their entrepreneurial skills. ‘Intrapreneurship’ " the latest buzzword in India Inc has started gaining momentum. The Indian economy has seen a rise in the number of entrepreneurs in recent years and many young professionals prefer to be independent. Millions proudly claim the title of entrepreneur but on the other hand, a title that hasn’t had the attention it deserves is that of an ‘intrapreneur’.

An employee who is given the financial support and resources to create new products, services and systems, is called an intrapreneur. Some of the greatest business leaders of the past made their early mark in business as intrapreneurs. Former General Electric chairman Jack Welch made a name for himself by building GE’s engineering plastics business as if he were starting his own company. Lew Lehr, former chairman of 3M, similarly built his career on his intrapreneurial pursuit of 3M’s expansion into the healthcare industry. "With the information age making its way into corporations, the business expanding in many different ways, it is realized that the command and control policy that was earlier the foundation on which the organizations thrived, was slowly crumbling. And with it, it was taking the very soul of the company - the employees. In this knowledge economy, employees have emerged as the differentiating factor for the success of organizations,” says Anand Pillai, senior VP and global head, talent transformation, intrapreneurship development and EFCS transformation initiatives, HCL.

Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, Ahmedabad, has launched a two-year postgraduate diploma programme in Management - Development Sector and Social Entrepreneurship. Talking about the need for such a course, Binod K Das, associate faculty, Development Sector and Social Entrepreneurship, said that professionals with knowledge and skills are required to handle the development scenario.

"The last two decades have witnessed an expansion in the domain and scope of development sector organisation ( DSO) activities. These NGOs are shouldering responsibilities in the area of efficient planning, networking with partners, executing schemes and managing public funds.

Such a programme will bridge the gap between the burgeoning sector and trained professionals. Moreover, social entrepreneurship has emerged as a viable business alternative in recent years."

Talking about the course, Das said, "The focus of this course is to develop management competencies and analytical capabilities, which are needed in the development sector. This course imparts the skills required to be a manager, teacher or field functionary." The course will cover aspects such as communication skills, strategic management in NGOs, legal framework for NGOs, social research methods, management of natural resources, and more.

Students also get internship opportunities for independent assessment of programmes. "During internship, students work with development organisations to learn several attributes, which do not surface in normal classroom situations.

Attributes such as intellectual ability, professional judgment, decision-making ability, inter-disciplinary approach, skills for data handling are developed during the internship," said Das.

According to him, this course will help students to work in multi-national or national level development organisations . The course equips students with skills to become educators, managers, executives or owners of an organisation. Students joining this course can also be 'specialists' in development research, micro finance, micro-enterprise development and social entrepreneurship and CSR.

Students who hold a Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognised university can apply. EDI accepts MAT and XAT scores in lieu of entrance test for admission. "This year, EDI will offer fellowship to all the candidates of the programme from the NGO Development Fund," added Das.