Few Indians turn entrepreneurs, why manufacturing is key to staving off job losses, and more trending news

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Only one in 20 Indians go on to set up their own business. Though 11% of adults (aged 18-64) are engaged in "early-stage entrepreneurial activity", the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor India Report 2016-17 shows, just 5% run it for more than 42 months. The drop-off rate is as high as 26.4% thanks to bureaucratic hurdles, financial issues, and profitability, among other reasons. This is despite the country’s ranking on the World Bank’s ease of doing business survey rising a record 30 notches to 100, on the back of measures like the GST rollout and the government's anti-corruption policies. 

India needs to step up its manufacturing game to avoid mass unemployment, says Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman. "In Asia, India could take the lead but only if it develops its manufacturing sector, not only services," he said. In another interview with Mint, Krugman observed the service sector employed a small portion of the workforce with advanced skills, but the country needed to create jobs for hundreds of millions. "Manufacturing is a natural place to employ people," he said. The government’s Make In India programme has not spurred manufacturing as expected due to reasons ranging from an overvalued currency to tight monetary policies to high interest rates.

India can avoid about 26 million premature deaths this century by fast-tracking emission cuts. A study by Duke University shows that Delhi and Kolkata could alone save 8.8 million lives. Globally, the study says, 153 million premature deaths can be avoided by expediting emission cuts and limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius in the near future. The government is set to revamp its anti-pollution strategy with a National Clean Air Programme, which includes establishing nearly 600 air quality monitoring stations across the country.

An Arizona woman died last night after being hit by one of Uber’s self-driving cars, in what’s believed to be the first known death from an autonomous vehicle. The car was in autonomous mode with a human safety driver at the wheel when it struck the woman crossing the street, outside of a crosswalk. Tempe Police Chief Sylvia Moir says the ride-hailing company was likely not at fault. Uber suspended testing of its self-driving cars in the US and Canada following the incident. 

56% of corporate employees sleep less than six hours a day due to workplace stress, an Assocham report shows. Despite the sleep deficit, Indians don't shy away from hitting the gym, with two in three respondents willing to prioritise exercise over extra sleep. Contrastingly, another survey by Philips shows that Indians are compromising on good sleep mainly due to distractions by technology — three in one adults cite it a major reason even as 19% feel working late or early shifts is the culprit.

Idea of the Day: Are you ready for a career change? Before you take the leap, it’s important to evaluate what’s driving the desire for change, advises entrepreneur and Hamilton Bradshaw CEO James Caan.

“I’ve heard a lot of candidates tell me they’re desperate for a career change, but when it comes to it, all they’re really searching for is to be more valued in their current role.”

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