India’s economic ambitions rest on its ability to foster a generation of entrepreneurs willing to take risks, build industries, and create jobs. Yet, a troubling trend has emerged ~ many young business heirs and well-educated professionals prefer managing inherited wealth rather than venturing into operational businesses. This shift away from production and innovation toward financial management poses long-term concerns for India’s industrial and economic future.
The younger generation of business leaders often gravitates toward investment management, trading, and running family offices rather than engaging in manufacturing or core business operations. Unlike their predecessors, who built enterprises from the ground up, many of today’s wealthy young entrepreneurs focus on maintaining and growing financial assets. While wealth preservation is important, an economy thrives when individuals create and scale businesses, generating employment and industrial growth. This preference for financial management over business creation is not confined to business families. Even among the middle class, a similar trend is visible.
Engineering graduates increasingly opt for finance, consulting, or managerial roles rather than engaging in core engineering or manufacturing. The rapid growth of the services sector, particularly IT and financial services, has made desk jobs in metro cities more attractive than factory-based roles. The perception that managing money is more prestigious and rewarding than building tangible businesses has gained ground over decades, further discouraging industrial entrepreneurship. Several factors contribute to this shift. Cultural attitudes play a major role ~ working in finance or technology is often seen as more sophisticated than managing production on the factory floor.
In many business families, young successors now prefer urban lifestyles over the demanding realities of running manufacturing operations in remote industrial hubs. Additionally, regulatory changes and technological advancements have enabled many Indian entrepreneurs to manage their businesses remotely from overseas financial centres. This detachment from core business operations weakens India’s manufacturing potential. Unlike countries such as China, where industrial entrepreneurs aggressively expand their operations, India’s nextgeneration business leaders often shy away from the challenges of scaling production. As a result, India continues to lag in manufacturing, missing opportunities to create globally competitive industrial enterprises.
Reversing this trend requires a cultural and structural shift. Business families must encourage young successors to gain hands-on experience in operations rather than taking a shortcut to wealth management. Educational institutions should emphasise entrepreneurship in manufacturing and industrial sectors, not just finance and services. The government, too, must make manufacturing more attractive by ensuring ease of business, reducing compliance burdens, and incentivising industrial investment. India needs entrepreneurs who are hungry to build, not just manage. Sustainable economic growth depends on individuals willing to innovate, take risks, and drive industrial expansion. If the country fails to revive its manufacturing and entrepreneurial spirit, it risks stagnation, with wealth merely circulating within financial markets instead of creating real economic value.