EXPLORING DESIRES AND DEMOGRAPHIC INFLUENCES ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS' SUSTAINABLE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the factors that motivate undergraduate students in arts and science colleges to start their own firms and examine the impact of various demographic characteristics on their entrepreneurial aspirations in Thoothukudi district. Theoretical Framework: The study aims to understand how undergraduate students from arts and science colleges perceive entrepreneurship and the factors that influence their entrepreneurial desires. Method: The study utilizes primary and secondary data. Primary data is collected through a questionnaire administered to undergraduate students in arts and science colleges in Thoothukudi district. Secondary data is gathered from various sources such as books, newspapers, journals, and websites. The researcher selects 150 sample. Results and Conclusion: The findings indicate that the entrepreneurial desires of college students vary based on gender, problem-solving abilities, resilience in the face of adversity etc., Technical expertise is identified as crucial for establishing a commercially viable and successful business, while problem-solving abilities and resilience are common entrepreneurial objectives among students in arts and science colleges. Implications of the Research: The research highlights the importance of understanding the factors that drive undergraduate student. The findings useful for policymakers, and aspiring entrepreneurs in developing strategies to foster an entrepreneurial mindset and provide necessary support for young entrepreneurs. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the understanding of entrepreneurial aspirations among undergraduate students. It sheds light on the influence of demographic characteristics and provides insights into the motivations and objectives of these students in pursuing entrepreneurship.


INTRODUCTION
Entrepreneurship is regarded to be good for the economy and could contribute significantly to the country's future wealth. The unemployment rate in India is unquestionably rising. Many college graduates struggle to find jobs that are suitable for their qualifications. Many organizations, including the government, see entrepreneurship education as a way to improve young people's job placement while also contributing to their social and economic well-being. Jobs are created as a result of entrepreneurship, which leads to more opportunities.Entrepreneurship, social development, and economic development are all closely related concepts. Without focusing on entrepreneurship growth, economic development of a nation cannot be fully achieved. If it is ignored, it represents a strategic setback for a nation's economic development. India is a very populous nation. There are not many work prospects for its large population. Through entrepreneurship, people can create economic prospects for themselves as well as opportunities to employ others. Entrepreneurship is the process of starting a new business by embracing risk and uncertainty and looking for chances in order to make a profit and experience growth while utilizing the necessary resources. People are drawn to entrepreneurship because it offers a variety of advantages, including autonomy in decisionmaking, intellectual challenge, and increased self-assurance. India is therefore working to encourage and support entrepreneurship. There have been varying levels of direct and indirect entrepreneurial promotion efforts. But first, an entrepreneurial culture needs to be established.
The entrepreneurship culture can be improved by elements like education and personality attributes. Due of its advantages for both individuals and the national economy, entrepreneurship is receiving more attention on both a national and international level. Emphasis must be placed on entrepreneurship education for the development of entrepreneurship. In this approach, universities can be quite important. Students' employment choices are influenced by their university education, which also supports them in making the 3 best decisions. Most institutions nowadays have invested a considerable sum of money to create an effective entrepreneurship curriculum for their students. A broader definition of entrepreneurship education includes all education and training initiatives, whether they are part of the educational system or not, that aim to foster in participants the desire to engage in entrepreneurial behaviors or some of the factors that influence that desire, like entrepreneurial knowledge, the desirability of the entrepreneurial activity, or its viability.
The creation of policies intended to foster entrepreneurship in developing nations has drawn a lot of attention as a result of the government's increased interest in the role that entrepreneurship plays in accomplishing socio-economic development goals (Karimi et al., 2017). The creation of jobs, the transfer of technology, the improvement of infrastructure, and economic growth are all problems that many nations view entrepreneurship as the solution to (Mumba, 2017).
According to research, especially among students, developing entrepreneurial goals is a prerequisite for entrepreneurial behavior (Bagheri 2015). As a result, academics have given a lot of effort to identifying the variables that affect the development of entrepreneurial intention (Tung et al., 2020). According to one study, students who took entrepreneurship classes had more entrepreneurial intentions than other students. (Kirby 2011). According to Pahuja and Sanjeev (2016), entrepreneurship is nothing more than the process of developing new products that are valuable in response to certain possibilities; as a result, it entails time, effort, and risk taking with the hope of receiving rewards down the road that may or may not be monetary in nature. One's view of the social pressure that is put on them to engage in certain behaviors or not, including peer pressure, parental pressure, and pressure from role models (Zovko et al., 2020). Thrikawala (2011) came to the conclusion that academics in Sri Lanka who are pursuing studies in a variety of fields and at various educational levels do not particularly favor entrepreneurship. The study found that the intention to start one's own business is highly influenced by one's field of study, education level, gender, and family business experience, whereas the financial stability of an undergraduate's family is unrelated to their business interest. In addition, he suggested that conferences, workshops, and seminars be held to encourage entrepreneurship and raise knowledge of entrepreneurial prospects among university students. And he said that it's crucial to update university curricula so that students have greater exposure to small company, such as by addressing more real-world instances in class. It will therefore encourage undergraduates' desire to launch their own company.
According to Yang (2013), attitude served as the best indicator of a person's ambition to start a business. Zhang et al. (2015), in contrast, confirm a surprising finding from a study carried out in the US: that attitude does not significantly affect entrepreneurial ambition.According to Van Gelderen et al. (2010), entrepreneurship is a mindset that shows a person's drive and ability to spot an opportunity and seize it in order to create new value or financial success. Entrepreneurs are essential for boosting the overall health and prosperity of the economy by generating money, fostering innovation, and creating jobs (Morrison et al., 2003).
Scholars should pay more attention to the idea of entrepreneurial wants since it provides a way to better understand and forecast entrepreneurship. Our understanding of entrepreneurial aspirations is still restricted, making it difficult to comprehend the intended behavior of starting a business. There are numerous quantitative studies in the literature that concentrate on students' intentions to launch a business and use undergraduate students as their primary sample. To our knowledge, no research has been done on the intents of entrepreneurs before and after they start a business. This provides new opportunities for studying how opportunities are identified and taken advantage of, with entrepreneurial urges serving as the primary forerunner. A deeper comprehension of the nature of intentions can help us comprehend why an entrepreneur started their business, how it performed, and how it will perform in the future.
The main purpose of this study is to find out how undergraduate students in arts and science colleges feel about entrepreneurship. The study's goal was to find out how undergraduate students from arts and science colleges felt about entrepreneurship. The study is only open to students in Thoothukudi district who are pursuing their undergraduate degrees in arts and science colleges that accept both men and women.
The majority of graduates are presently unemployed or employed in fields unrelated to their core abilities. It's because many college students are unaware of the rewards of entrepreneurship and have a limited skill set. Because entrepreneurial behaviour is the result of a positive mindset and intention, it's crucial to comprehend the factors that drive entrepreneurial goals. Many college graduates struggle to find jobs that are suitable for their qualifications. The main problem in our country is unemployment. One of the most important solutions to this problem is entrepreneurship. The country's future entrepreneurs are today's students. The main objectives of this study are as follows 1. To identify and understand the key factors that motivate undergraduate students to venture into sustainable entrepreneurship, including their aspirations, values, and environmental concerns. 2. To investigate the relationship between demographic factors and undergraduate students' entrepreneurial desires, with a specific focus on how these factors influence their motivation to engage in sustainable enterprise initiatives.

LITERATURE REVIEW
The goal of Isabel Elitas et al.'s study from 2023 was to evaluate the variables that affect college students in Zambia's development of entrepreneurial inclinations. The study, which was based on Ajzne's theory of planned behavior, sought to understand how the variables influencing college students and Northern Technical College's entrepreneurship intention development affect the theory's constructs. Through a self-administered questionnaire, 300 students provided primary data, which was then analyzed using structural equation modeling. According to the study's findings, there is a correlation between the independent variables of entrepreneurship education, risk-taking, and college environments as well as entrepreneurial desires. It was shown that the link was moderated by attitude toward entrepreneurship. It was shown that the interaction between all three independent factors and entrepreneurial inclinations was mediated by perceived behavioral control. Both theoretical and practical ramifications of the findings were discussed, along with recommendations for further research and ideas for policymakers.
Kwaku Amofah and others, 2020 The objective behind increasing entrepreneurial activity in a nation is to foster innovation, wealth creation, industrialization, employment, economic expansion, and development. The study looked at how 159 graduates of MBA programs from two private colleges in Ghana viewed entrepreneurship, subjective norms, loci of control, self-confidence in entrepreneurship, and support from the environment. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used in the study to assess the participant data. Renji Mohan et.al., (2022) has given in the findings indicate that every element, with the exception of entrepreneurial self-efficacy, has a significant impact on students' entrepreneurial inclinations. The report gives decision-makers the chance to encourage student entrepreneurship as a base for putting their intentions to close the enormous job gaps in emerging nations into action.
Age is linked to a lesser possibility to have an entrepreneurial intention, according to Hatak et al. (2015). Contrarily, Chaudhary (2017)  5 also studied the distinctions between male and female entrepreneurial intent. Male students in Vietnam appear to have slightly higher entrepreneurial intentions than female students, according to Nguyen (2020).
According to Phong et al. (2020), there is evidence linking gender and university major choice, and both factors have an impact on entrepreneurial intention. However, several research found no appreciable distinction between men and women in terms of their desire to launch enterprises.
A theoretical framework has been established by Shaila Sarmin et al. (2017) in an effort to pinpoint the variables that influence entrepreneurial intention. For this purpose, information was gathered from students at public and private universities in the city of Dhaka. Numerous characteristics from the literature, including risk-taking propensity, need for achievement, locus of control, acceptance of ambiguity, autonomy, self-confidence, and education, as well as demographic traits like gender and discipline, have been examined to determine their effects on entrepreneurial ambition. It is discovered through the use of Person's correlation that the independent variables and entrepreneurial intention have a favorable association. The variables in multiple regressions are statistically significant, with the exception of locus of control and education. Chi-square analysis reveals that there is no difference between business and nonbusiness students, but there is a statistically significant difference between male and female students regarding entrepreneurial intention.
In their 2016 study, Mohammad Ahmar Uddin et al. examined the impact of four important demographic factors-the father's profession, gender, experience, and educational attainment-on Omani university students' intentions to pursue entrepreneurship. Students at Dhofar University are surveyed as part of the study using a structured questionnaire. When the data are reviewed, it is shown that students have a high level of intention to launch their own businesses. Additionally, it is discovered that demographic factors have an impact on the intention to start a business. Experience has been determined to have the greatest impact on entrepreneurship interest among demographic characteristics. The findings point to the necessity of offering students practical work experience in addition to their academic curricula. The likelihood that a student will become an entrepreneur will rise as their level of experience causes them to have higher entrepreneurial intentions. Universities and the government should also support entrepreneurship training programs that take into account the students' educational levels, gender, and the profession of their fathers.
The hypothesis of the study are as follows Ho: There is no statistically significant difference between the characteristics that inspire students of different ages to pursue entrepreneurship. Ho: Students of different gender groups do not significantly differ in their ambition to start their own business. Ho: The business aspirations of students in different age groups do not significantly differ.

METHODOLOGY
Primary and secondary data are used in the current investigation. Primary data was acquired through the use of a questionnaire. Secondary data was acquired from a number of places, including books, newspapers, journals, and magazines, as well as the government library and information centre and a number of entrepreneurship-related websites. In Thoothukudi there are 29 arts and science colleges. There are 11,600 under graduates students. Among these 170 respondents were randomly selected from the colleges. Rejecting 20 unfilled questionnaires and finally 150 were selected using simple random sampling method.

Age Group of Students and Factors Encourage to Enter Intoentrepreneurship
The following null hypothesis was developed to determine whether there were any significant differences in the factors that foster entrepreneurship among college students by age group.
Null Hypothesis: There is no statistically significant difference between the characteristics that inspire students of different ages to pursue entrepreneurship. With respect to the factors that inspire people to start businesses, such as family background factors and media factors, at a 5% level of significance, the null hypothesis is disregarded because the "p" value is smaller than 0.05. As a result, there is a substantial age gap in terms of factors that drive people to start businesses, such as family background and media influences. It may be deduced that age is a crucial element determining the factors that inspire people to start businesses, such as family background factors and media factors. It is determined that there is a considerable age gap between arts and science college students in terms of elements that inspire them to start their own business, specifically family background factors and media factors.
On family background variables and media factors, students under the age of 18 years differ considerably from students in the age groups of 19 to 21 years and 22 years and above, according to Duncan Multiple Range Test.
For the factors that drive students to establish firms, the null hypothesis is accepted at a significance level of 5% because the "p" value is greater than 0.05, such as self-motivating factors, economic factors, technical factors, social factors, government and non-government policies, and overall factors. Thus, there is no significant difference in factors that encourage students to pursue entrepreneurship, between the age groups students. It is found that among students, age is not a significant variable influencing the factors that encourage them to pursue entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurial Desires Among Different Gender Group of College Students
't' test is attempted with the null hypothesis as,Students of different gender groups do not significantly differ in their ambition to start their own business.
The result of 't' test is shown in Table 2.  Table 2 illustrates the mean score of entrepreneurial desires among students in arts and science colleges by gender, as well as the corresponding 'T' statistics. The main entrepreneurial desires among male students of arts and science colleges are technical knowledge is required to make a business commercially viable/successful and ability to think clearly and stay composed when faced with difficulties, with respective average scores of 4.6290 and 4.5363, and among female students of arts and science colleges, fulfil a personal vision and all the good things in life, with their respective average scores of 4.5410 and 4.4988, respectively. Regarding the entrepreneurial desires, the significant difference among the different gender group of students, are found in the case of ability to think clearly and stay composed on facing difficulties, acquired or inherited professional and technical skills, successful business operators and follow them as a role models, many ideas for business ventures, starting a business is a good way to earn more money and Students at the college can easily launch their own businesses because the null hypothesis cannot be accepted because the corresponding "T" values are statistically significant at the 5% level.

Entrepreneurial Desires Among Different Age Group of Students of Arts and Science Colleges
'ANOVA' test is applied with the null hypothesis asthe business aspirations of students in different age groups do not significantly differ.  Table 3 displays the mean score of entrepreneurial desires among college students of various ages, as well as the corresponding 'F' statistics. There are many opportunities, and the government provides numerous grants and loans to promote the establishment of new enterprises. in our state, and starting a business is a good way to earn more money, according to the students of arts and science colleges who are between the ages of 18 and 18, and their respective average scores are 4.7500 and 4.7400 and among the students who are in the age group of 19 to 21 years, fulfill a personal vision and all the good ideas have been taken and their respective average scores are 4.5477 and 4.5177. According to the table, the most common entrepreneurial goals among students over the age of 22 are to realise a personal vision, and technical knowledge is required to make a business commercially viable/successful, with average scores of 4.3438 and 4.3125, respectively. Regarding the entrepreneurial desires, the significant difference among the different age group of students of arts and science colleges, are found in the case of aspire to start own business in one day, family will approve and support if set up own business and starting a business is a good way to earn more money,the null hypothesis is rejected since the corresponding "F" statistics are significant at the 5% level.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
• It is found that there is a considerable age gap between arts and science college students in terms of elements that inspire them to start their own business, specifically family background factors and media factors. • The main entrepreneurial desires among male students of arts and science colleges are technical knowledge is required to make a business commercially viable/successful and ability to think clearly and stay composed when faced with difficulties, with respective average scores of 4.6290 and 4.5363, and among female students of arts and science colleges, fulfil a personal vision and all the good things in life, with their respective average scores of 4.5410 and 4.4988, respectively. • It is found that the most common entrepreneurial goals among students over the age of 22 are to realize a personal vision, and technical knowledge is required to make a business commercially viable/successful, with average scores of 4.3438 and 4.3125, respectively. • There are many opportunities, and the government provides numerous grants and loans to promote the establishment of new enterprises. in our state, and starting a business is a good way to earn more money, according to the students of arts and science colleges who are between the ages of 18 and 18, and their respective average scores are 4.7500 and 4.7400 and among the students who are in the age group of 19 to 21 years, fulfill a personal vision and all the good ideas have been taken and their respective average scores are 4.5477 and 4.5177. • Entrepreneurial awareness and drive are required for all of these students in the educational main streams in order for them to select entrepreneurship as a career option. • Colleges should host more entrepreneurial-related activities and workshops, as well as projects such as company proposals and small business management on campus, allowing students to participate in the management of their own firm and gain prior business experience. • Building a team within the campus environment may be easier than anywhere else because colleges should provide access to a huge body of brilliant and skilled individuals grouped in one spot. Indeed, the diversity of talents available is very chief or start-ups. • More entrepreneurial training and possibilities for business training motivation may be provided to boost students' entrepreneurial ambitions in colleges.
• More possibilities should be given to students to take part in internships, group projects, and business opportunities. • The entrepreneurship education curriculum needs to be revised in a way that encourages students in arts and science colleges to have a positive outlook on starting their own enterprises or being entrepreneurs. Students who aspire to be young entrepreneurs must also be given incentives and the necessary resources, so that private businesses can work on creating a business center on campus.

CONCLUSION
It is found that technical expertise is essential to establish a business commercially viable/successful, and the capacity to solve problems and remain calm in the face of adversity are the most common entrepreneurial objectives among students. According to the findings of this study, students at Arts and science colleges have significant and favorable entrepreneurial desires. This necessitates the government and universities attention to install solid and qualitative education in students. This would lead to the formation of a positive attitude among pupils, which would then lead to the development of an intention to become entrepreneurs.Based on the research question it indicates that the entrepreneurial desires of college students vary based on gender, problem-solving abilities, resilience in the face of adversity etc.The research highlights the importance of understanding the factors that drive undergraduate student. The findings useful for policymakers, and aspiring entrepreneurs in developing strategies to foster an entrepreneurial mindset and provide necessary support for young entrepreneurs. The limitations of the study are there is a sincere effort has been made to reduce respondents prejudiced and opinionated comments. The absolute validity of the same, however, cannot be assured.Because the study is dependent on sampling, the degree of accuracy with which the sample size represents the population could degrade the study. Furthermore, the researcher's limits in terms of sample selection may have an impact on the study. The researcher also suggests the following title for the future researchers. "Demographic Factors and Undergraduate Students' Perception of Sustainable Entrepreneurship".