Author(s): Sunil
Entrepreneurship plays a significant role in improving the health of an economy. It motivates innovation, focuses research and development, creates new technology, develops new methods of production, and evolves new model of business operations. Entrepreneurship not only focuses on innovation but also seizes new opportunities, endorses high productivity, and generates employment opportunities. Given the challenging prospects of getting employment in the government sector, the youth of India are grappling with employment struggles. To exclude the most energetic section of the population from contributing to national productivity is certainly detrimental to economic growth. Motivating the youth to start their own ventures has been a focal point for policymakers. The government is concentrating on the development of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in the country. Universities and colleges have introduced entrepreneurship curricula. The present study is an attempt to examine the inclination of undergraduate students at the University of Delhi towards entrepreneurship. The study also aimed to examine the linkages between entrepreneurial proclivity and various factors, including the role of the university in promoting entrepreneurship, simulation and industry interaction programs, entrepreneurial learning and training, entrepreneurship influencers, family occupation, and individual characteristics of the students. Principal component analysis, rotated varimax method, Pearson correlation, and linear regression analysis were employed through SPSS to draw conclusions. The study revealed a positive correlation among all the components with entrepreneurial proclivity, except for shortcomings identified in simulation and industrial interaction programs. The university's role in promoting entrepreneurship and its internship programs is found to have a strong influence on entrepreneurial proclivity. Although entrepreneurship learning and training exhibit a strong correlation with entrepreneurial proclivity, as indicated in the study, the findings reject the H2 hypothesis. Similarly, the H3 hypothesis regarding the role of entrepreneurship influencers in entrepreneurial proclivity has not garnered support. The study also highlights significant differences in entrepreneurial proclivity among students based on their fathers' occupations and pursued courses. The study suggests that the university should enhance its learning and training programs to align with the contemporary business environment, enabling students to better tackle entrepreneurial challenges. Entrepreneurship internship programs, as well as simulation and industry interaction programs, play a pivotal role in the development of entrepreneurship. The study indicates that internship programs should be tailored to meet the specific needs of students. Additionally, the study brings to light some concerns among students regarding the perception of entrepreneurship, such as reluctance to choose entrepreneurship as a career option, fear of failure, and a preference for securing employment in established companies rather than starting their own startups. Addressing these concerns is crucial