Name: Tumeshwar, Rameshwar Mandavi & Suraj Sahu
Country: India

Year: 2026
Volume: Volume-13, Issue-1 (January-June)
Page Number: 60-167
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19760972

ABSTRACT
Against the backdrop of the Innovation Mahakumbh initiative, this paper examines the attitudes, awareness, and challenges faced by Scheduled Tribe youth in the Dantewada District of Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division regarding business self-employment. This is a descriptive study in which primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire. To ensure data authenticity, validity test (attention check) questions were employed, after which a statistical analysis of 58 fully authentic responses was conducted. Our study finds that 63.8% of the youth prefer to establish self-employment within their own division rather than opting for traditional government jobs or migrating, and 81.0% are prepared to take business risks. Indicating a notable shift in the mindset of tribal youth, who increasingly aspire to become job creators rather than mere job seekers. Although there is a strong desire for
entrepreneurship among the youth, the lack of proper mentorship and training (43.1%) and the lack of initial capital (41.4%) emerge as primary obstacles, requiring interventions on Practical and policy-level. Given the small sample size (N=58) and the descriptive design, these findings should be interpreted as preliminary indicators of attitudinal trends within the
studied population rather than as broadly generalisable conclusions.
Keywords: Self-employment, Tribal Youth, Tribal Entrepreneurship, Bastar Division, Government Schemes, Skill Development, Paradigm Shift, Risk-taking Capacity.