Name: Kunal Ashok
Email id: ashok.kunal@gmail.com or kunal.ashok@iimb.ernet.in
Phone number: 961116703
Abstract:
Can India have a Google of its own?
The idea behind the suggestions of India becoming an innovation powerhouse or at least to start with a company that becomes an innovation education is to revamp India’s education system that has for long focussed on training people to get a job and not really thinking creatively. Fostering creative thinking by directing the education system towards a more research oriented framework can do the trick for India. This coupled with social support for our budding technology entrepreneurs can put India on the fast track of finally having a Google of its own.

There have been innumerable speculations as to whether India indeed would become a superpower by the end of the century or at least be at par with China and the USA at the high tables of the world. Though as Indians, we have reasons to feel optimistic, it should be noted that no country ever has dominated the world economy without being at the forefront of the technological revolution of its era. Be it the British through their industrial revolution and ensuing exports in the 18th century, the Americans in the 19th century through innovation or the Indians themselves in 1000 BC by being pioneers in the field of education and science - all historical instances of countries leading the world did so in terms of creativity and originality of thoughts.
Hence if India wants to regain its lost reputation of being the leader, then it has to quickly adopt the means to innovate through creativity and original ideas. In other words, it either has to come up with a set of new firms that will deliver brand new products and services to the world and revolutionize the way mankind transacts its daily affairs or upgrade its present set of firms to deliver innovative solutions. The question now is, does the country have it within itself produce another Google or an Apple - a truly Indian company focussed on innovation to chart a new direction for human understanding?
Well, on the looks of it, it may appear that Indians do have it them to be creative. Entrepreneurship is alive and kicking in the country with more people being self employed that working in the organized sector. India businesses have grown in spite of the government and this is one area we have been ahead of when compared to the Chinese whose massive governmentt firms receive heavy support from the state machinery. With so many new ventures starting every day it perhaps is not too farfetched to imagine that we may eventually tumble upon making a Google some day. The thing to be borne in mind however, that the Google's just don't happen. In the field of technology one not only needs a free spirit to start a new venture but also tremendous depth of knowledge and an undying urge to use it to solve the problems of the world. None of the present day Indian firms have that. Look at any Indina firm - Cipla, uses reverse engineering to produce generic drugs , Bharti uses technology that have been tried and tested all over world and IT, India's pinup industry ,has failed to come up with a single innovate product for more than 20 years of its "glorious" existence. A common pattern emerges out of all these firms. They have all been catapulted to fame through incremental up gradation or process innovation or have just benefited from the fact that Indian skilled labour has been abundantly available at economical rates. Hence, if the present trends of framework (educational, social and industrial competitiveness) are allowed to continue, India can never have its own Google. It can at best be a France, a country that exports luxury and sophisticated but never a US that through innovation wows the world with its Facebooks, Microsofts and the likes.

This then begs the question. What would it take for India to have its own Google in the next, say 20 years?
Well, to start the education system in India needs a complete revision. The right to education is a good start. But this fundamental right should be made enforceable. This would help create a massive "base" pool that could have a chance of being the innovator. Most of the premier engineering colleges are government controlled with limited research focus and even more limited salaries for its professors. The urge to innovate is never present as these colleges are seen factories churning out employable workers; a cruel dichotomy in a country that produces "illiterate entrepreneurs" and "educated workers". This trend would have to be reversed. I would recommend a phased privatization of these institutes (since a one-stroke privatization would be blasphemous) with government still providing support to all those would are unable to finance their own education. Above all, the focus should to make research "trendy" and by making academics a lucrative career by a salary hike. This is not to say that our academicians will produce the new Google. But only if there is an innovative bent of mind will there be the possibility of a firm such as Google. Besides, India’s post-graduate education system needs a revamp. Many students with fresh ideas helplessly leave the country with their ideas because barring a few colleges India’s master degree courses offer little to be proud of. In fact a master’s degree in India is often seen as underachievement in one’s field. More stipends to master students followed by a stricter monitoring of their thesis should inculcate the innovative spirit within them which can then rub off on the undergrad students. Also practices such as filing for patents should be encouraged. Many Indian students with decent ideas and good work backing heir ideas are not even aware of the procedure to file for patents. Patent filing is a trend in the US and people with decent innovations file patents all the time. This gives the American students confidence and they see themselves as innovators. Such a culture if allowed to perpetuate will also instil confidence among Indian students
While entrepreneurship is widespread in certain communities the fear of failure prevents it from blossoming in India’s colleges. A job is often considered more secure. There are hardly any new firm incubation cells in India’s technical colleges. The few that are there are in the MBA colleges which have an even worse record of churning out entrepreneurs thanks to a very high college fees and incessant peer pressure to be “placed” in the finest management firms. An incubation cell provides people the opportunity to seed their idea with a VC or the college itself providing the initial funding. Since the cost of an engineering education is much cheaper, it perhaps would be apt to encourage students to take up entrepreneurship ventures right there.
Media too has to play a role in here. For long the media has been busy portraying the Anna Hazares and other social reformers as heros. While they deserve to have their moment in the sun, the media should start glorifying the deeds of India’s entrepreneurs. For instance, the Indian engineers who came up with the first tablet which many people thought would challenge Apple’s Pad did not receive any extended limelight in the Indian media. That they were eagerly sought after by Silicon Valley VCs shows that that their design was no mean achievement. We need more such people to be portrayed as role models to be emulated by upcoming youngsters.
With a number of problems facing India and other poor countries opportunities abound where young technologists can put their thinking caps on and come up with technological solutions that will have a lasting impact on society. Google revolutionised internet search and in many ways our lives by understanding the importance of search. If appropriate incentives as outlined above are put in place then India sure can come up with a technologically appealing way to reduce congestion of public transports or of helping people tack and reduce pollutions. The big question will remain if India can make the necessary changes to its social and education systems to facilitate this.