Introduction to Government as a Business Facilitator

‘Facility’ is a very general term, used to denote the ease that we receive in any activity. Everyone wants to enjoy the facilities. It is not new to the business units too. They also crave for more and more facilities and that too at the least cost. Some facilities are available naturally which are available free of cost. Learn Business Facilitator here.

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Facilitator Meaning

In the present era, ‘facility’ is no longer a general term. Now, it is a specific and much wider in nature. In terms of business, business facilitation is the combination of arrangements that ease the doing of business. The people or the organization which provide such facilities to the businesses are known as ‘Business Facilitators’.

They are also famous with the names of the ‘helpers’. The level of the need of the facilities for business completely depends upon the complexity of the business processes. Hence, more professional businesses require professional helpers.

Organizations Facilitating Business In India

Organization in India which are facilitating the businesses are mainly divided into 2 parts, i.e., Non-Funding Institutions and Funding Institutions.
Further, both the parts have separate bodies under them. Non-Funding Institutions in India are as follows:
(a) Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
(b) Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)
(c) Competition Commission of India (CCI)
(d) Industry Specific Facilitation Institutions (IRDAI)

Funding Institutions are as follows:
(a) Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI)
(b) Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)
(c) Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank)
(d) National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD)

Status of Aids to Trade as Business Facilitator

Aids to Trade or Auxiliaries to Trade are the activities which make the trade easy and convenient. If we are talking about business facilitators, then we also need to talk about the aids to trade. It is because they form the major component of the business facilitators. There are many auxiliaries like banking, insurance, warehousing, transport, etc. All of them act as the “Business Facilitators” as all of them makes the functioning of the business easy.

Different Business Facilitators and their Contribution

1. Freight Forwarder

Firstly, a freight forwarder is a person or an organization who organizes shipments at the time of purchase from the seller. Then, they also organize shipments for the ultimate distribution of the goods to the customers. They do so by getting in contact with various agencies of transportations like Railways, Airways, Warehousing agencies, etc. That is how they act as a business facilitator for the ease in the transportation and storage of goods and services.

2. Business Incubator

This era is the era of startups. In the initial phase, startups face many issues related to finance and technical knowledge. Hence, there is a great need for certain bodies which can provide these facilities, especially to young businesses.

Here comes the concept of ‘Business Incubators’ and ‘Business Accelerators’. Business Incubators provide facilities of finance and technical assistance to young businesses. On the other hand, Business Accelerators provide facilities which help the budding businesses to quickly launch a product.

3. Financial Consultants

There are various bodies or organizations which provide advisory support to the organizations. Firstly, they help the organizations by advising them on the various sources of finance, both short term, and long term finances. Moreover, they also help them to mobilize the requirements of finance.

4. Merchandiser

Supply is an important aspect of any business. A continuous supply of raw material is very necessary for any business organization. It becomes a great challenge when the knowledge of the market is not easily available, business is new to contact the suppliers, etc. In order to cope up with this issue of supply, the role of merchandisers came into existence. They are the business facilitators because they help the businesses to obtains its supplies from the suppliers.

Government as a Business Facilitator

Government policies are an important aspect of the economy. In this present era, no business can save themselves from the effect of government policies. Hence, there is rarely any segment of business and commerce that is not affected by government policies.  The government as a business facilitator supports the businesses by performing 2 major functions:

(a) Firstly, the government helps businesses by formulating ‘business friendly’ policies. If the policies are in favor of the businesses then it will improve the performance of the businesses as well as the economy as a whole. In 1991, the LPG policy in India helped the businesses to grow at a great speed. More business-friendly policies include tax relief policies for budding businesses, subsidies for special businesses, etc.

(b) Secondly, the government creates an institutional apparatus for the implementation of the policies. There are various government bodies which protect the businesses and help them to grow further. These include RBI, SEBI, BIFR, etc.

 Question on Business Facilitator

Question: What is the initial government steps toward business growth as a business facilitator?

Answer: Firstly, the Industrial Policy statement of 1948 helped the businesses to have a boost just after the independence of the country. Then, the government came up with the Industries Development & Regulation Act in 1951 which improved the business conditions in the economy through the means of industrialization.