What is a Venture Capital/Private Equity : Here is one definition
It is a Short to medium term investment by specialized funds in high-growth, high-risk, firms that need equity capital to finance product development” (Black and Gilson, 1998)
Alternatively,
It is a medium to long term equity investment in privately held unlisted companies, by specialized financing institutions with an objective of enhancing the value through sustained involvement in the management and exit with sufficient financial returns…
Some of the major players in the world are :
Accel Partners, Benchmark Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Kleiner Perkins,
Caufield & Byers, @Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital,
idealab Capital Partners, Charles Rivers Ventures, Vulcan Northwest
And who are the major players in India…
Sequoia Capital India, Ventureast, Intel Capital, Helion Venture Partners,
DFJ India, Nexus India Capital, NEA IndoUS Ventures, IDG India Ventures,
Kleiner Perkins India, Norwest Venture Partners
How is the Indian market placed compared to the world VCPE market in general :
Here is a quick snapshot of the Venture Capital/Private Equity happenings in India
source: Venture Intelligence
Clearly the Venture Capital /Private Equity market took a dip during the years of the financial crisis before hitting a peak in 2007. It has begun to pick up again.
There is a ever growing need for risk capital & continued policy emphasis from Government of India. Of course, there is a higher average rate of return and above all there is insufficient manpower. So this is a space for growth.
You can read about Roles which VC play here.