India Vs Silicon Valley Silicon Valley prides itself on having given the world some of the most significant technology breakthroughs that include companies like Apple, Google and of course, Facebook. This is primarily due to the famous high risk appetite that is now ingrained in the social fabric of the Valley and the encouragement given to failure. Start ups, however small, rely on a very strong support system of incubators run by veterans in the industry and a very strong venture capital network. In India the business models seem to pip technology innovation to the goal post at all times. Last year, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared the years 2010-20 as India’s Innovation Decade. He followed this up by appointing a high profile National Innovation Council to evangelize the cause of innovation and spread an innovation culture across the country. Can we expect India to emerge as the next Silicon Valley? Are we going to see the likes of a Google or an Apple emerges in India in the next ten years? India’s prowess in business has been powered in no small part by the ability of its entrepreneurs to innovate. Just think of Tata and Infosys, for example. But if the ability to recognize a need or an opportunity to innovate is to become part of the national business culture – and not something that separates talented entrepreneurs from the rank and file managers – changes in domains other than business will have to be made.“There is a big difference between the entrepreneurial ecosystem here and the one in Silicon Valley. Their scale of concept of innovation itself is different. Even the successful companies in India are based on only business model and not technology innovation,” said Sushanto Mitra, CEO of the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE), IIT-Bombay. “In this context, incubators in India are fighting two demons. One is to inculcate entrepreneurship and the second is to encourage technology innovation,” he added. Will India be the next Silicon Valley? And will we see a Google or an Apple emerge in India soon? That’s unlikely in my view, because Silicon Valley has a complete and reinforcing innovation ecosystem that has enabled it to ride one technology wave after another. As we have seen, the objective of innovation in India is not cutting edge technology per se, but instead the intelligent use of technology to meet important consumer and national needs. India’s hope is to become the locus of what well-known Indian scientist Ramesh Mashelkar calls more (value) for less (cost) for more (people) or MLM innovation. But this goal, relevant though it is to an economically poor country with a rich talent pool, poses challenges for an education system based on rote learning and a society beset by different forms of stratification. India’s National Innovation Council has its work cut out, for it has to shape an ecosystem to overcome these and other barriers to innovation. Such an ecosystem would reward those displaying creative confidence, facilitate partnerships, help ideas and technologies reach the market, and encourage young professionals to set up their own business ventures. New way of thinking and innovation with spirit of Entrepreneurship will change the condition. “Revolution 2020 is nothing but India became a country of Silicon Valley.” This happens only when Youth will change their attitude and start new way of Entrepreneurship… Article By - Pritish Kishor Govindpurkar MBA ( Marketing ) Vishwakarma Institute of Management , Pune.
Posted on: Sun, 22 Sep 2013 14:01:25 +0000
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