Indian entrepreneurs assess the average level of conduciveness at 3.31 on a scale of one to five (1 being poor and 5 being excellent) for ventures in the country. They have the highest confidence score of 4.14 in Andhra Pradesh for existing ventures, followed by Goa and Rajasthan.

On a states level, AP, Goa, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu (TN) and Punjab lead the pack with scores higher than the national average  while Chandigarh,  Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh (MP),  Uttar Pradesh (UP), Haryana, Kerala, West Bengal (WB) and Delhi have been rated below the national average.

This was the findings of a perception survey released jointly by KPMG and TiE  (The Indus Enterpreneur) titled - Entrepreneurial India during the TiE Entrepreneurial Summit 2008.

The survey covered 1,000 entrepreneurs across 15 Indian states to guage their perception of the ecosystem in their respective states.

The study was based on parameters such as infrastructure, finance, manpower, local environment and ecosystem, regulation and governance.

Finance, closely followed by infrastructure, with manpower marginally behind, emerged as the three most important factors considered for fostering entrepreneurial growth. Although, the respondents wanted improvement in infrastructure, it seems that they have acknowledged the government's efforts towards infrastructure development, and are optimistic about its impending transformation.

On the availability of finance, however, they were less confident despite a surge in the number of venture capitalists and private equity money available in the country and new banking initiatives towards funding start-ups and small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs).

''Entrepreneurs have a big role to play in driving India's growth, it is imperative that government, academia and other regulatory bodies create a favourable environment for entrepreneurs to flourish. Through this study we aim to identify challenges of entrepreneurs, assess the approach of various states while creating awareness amongst stakeholders and suggest a plan to spur action which drives the economic growth fueled by entrepreneurial ventures,'' Pradip Kanakia, head – markets in India of KPMG, said.

Given a chance to start all over again, 23 per cent of the entrepreneurs said they preferred Gujarat as the state for their new venture. Maharashtra and Haryana followed with 13 per cent and 7.5 per cent of entrepreneurs preferring these states respectively. Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Delhi received virtually equal scores – each being preferred by almost 5 per cent of the entrepreneurs surveyed.

A sector-wise analysis of the scores revealed that entrepreneurs in both the services and manufacturing sectors appear to be confident of the availability and support from their ecosystem with scores almost same as the national average with manufacturing at 3.30 and services at 3.31.

According to the study, the relationship between the State and the entrepreneur is an important factor in the success of a business. The research suggests that India has achieved a lot to instill confidence in its entrepreneurs but much still needs to be achieved in order to create an entrepreneur friendly environment. ''With a slower economy, it is critical to create an even more enabling ecosystem to motivate aspirants to make the leap to a full time entrepreneur and to enable current entrepreneurs to stay in the game. As this happens, we are likely to see entrepreneurs, the government and academia, be critical catalysts that drive India's inclusive growth agenda,''  added Jehil Thakkar, executive director, KPMG in India.

Among other challenges, the survey lists speedy land acquisitions and dispute settlement through dedicated courts; development of land clusters with dedicated infrastructure such as dedicated power feeders were some of the key initiatives for boosting infrastructure development.

On Finance, where availability was cited as a major concern, changes in lending guidelines for banks and creation of an AIM like exchange for entrepreneurial ventures were few of the measures suggested.

To improve regulation and governance, the report suggests implementation of true single window clearance and broadened use of e-governance while creation of a task force comprising of retired judiciary, entrepreneurs and industry associations to review, rationalise and simplify obsolete and inconsistent regulations.

To overcome issues of skilled manpower and social conditioning, the survey suggested incorporating  entrepreneurial curriculum at the school and college level as also the creation of a state level model on line of National Skill Development Mission (NSDM) among other measures.