Q.How does business contribute to the economic development of a country?

Business is not just about an individual owner's gain — through the goods, services, employment and infrastructure it creates, it shapes the wider prosperity of a country.

As Ruchita's businessman father put it, "there is a lot more to business than merely money" — business leads to the growth and development of a country.

How business contributes to economic development

• Production and supply of goods and services: Business produces or procures the goods and services people need and makes them available in markets across the country, satisfying human needs and wants.
• Employment and livelihood: Business, along with profession and employment, is a major economic activity by which people earn their livelihood; setting up enterprises (entrepreneurship) makes a person a job-provider rather than a job-seeker, expanding opportunities for others.
• Growth of aids to trade: Business activity spurs the growth of transportation, banking, finance and communication — the infrastructure on which a modern economy runs.
• Wealth and a favourable balance of trade: Historical evidence shows trading was the mainstay of India's economy, giving it a favourable balance of trade (exports exceeding imports by large margins) and a golden economic past — India controlled roughly one-third to one-fourth of the world's wealth in ancient and medieval times.
• Finance and capital formation: The indigenous banking system, and later commercial, industrial and agricultural banks, supplied traders and manufacturers with capital for expansion.
• National development today: Modern India, after liberalisation in 1991, is among the faster-growing economies and a preferred FDI destination; initiatives like Make in India, Skill India and Digital India are expected to boost trade and keep growth sustainable.