Why
hasn’t India been able to replicate, even in in some small measure ?
Why haven't
Indians been able to create a Google or Facebook in Bangalore?
If there's one
thing India is known for abroad, besides poverty, it's the country's prowess in
information technology. Its often said that if China is the factory of the
world, India is its back office !
Then Why ?
Reasons !!!
- Beginning
in the 1980s, Indian tech companies focused on providing relatively low
value-added IT services to overseas clients, rather than
developing high value-added products.
- The choice
made sense as Companies faced a tough climate for doing business in
then-socialist India and a small domestic market.
- Red tape strangled
the hardware sector, as so many others in India;
- archaic labor
laws (presently 44 national and more than 150 state laws are in practice.
These multiple laws make the things tougher, time consuming, expensive
etc. Hence we need to work on that.)
- lack of
power supply.
- Given
India's nationalized banking system, financing for risky
startups was slim-to-nonexistent.
- India
spends only 0.8 percent of its GDP on research and development, compared
to 2.8 percent in the U.S. and 1.8 percent in China, both
of which have much higher GDPs than India.
- lack
of a venture funding ecosystem in India for innovative new startup
ideas.
- collaboration
between universities and corporate enterprises is still minimal in India.
- even
today, India puts out less than 3 percent of the
world’s research – and little of that is translated into
commercial ventures.
Certain other challenges !!
- India’s Intellectual
property rights (IPRs) has been at the clash with the West interest. Our
IPRs have been adjusted with the Trade Related aspects of intellectual
property right (TRIPS) Agreement. Our trade mark and Copyright have been
amended according to feasibility of WTO. Still we need to work for
revamping the IPRs, so that the clash with West be minimized and
trade be boosted.
What needs to be done ?
- need to
focus on improving the environment for innovation.
- cutting regulations.
- investing in research and
education.
- boosting
growth in order to expand the domestic market.
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Lets talk positive..what did new Government do till now ?
- launched
the Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) Bank in order to
furnish funds for micro, small and medium enterprises.
- there
was an attempt at loosening labor laws.
What needs to be done ..but
is being opposed ( u know why ..politics ! )
- Millions
of workers went on strike recently, protesting against the proposed labor
reforms.
- The
Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill, which will facilitate the movement of
goods and services across states, is still stuck in parliament.
Roadmap ?
- India should prepare the ground to create a
research-oriented start-up ecosystem, akin to Silicon Valley which could
shape up our competitiveness in the global markets.
- build a science
park next to a research university, provide subsidies and incentives for
startups to locate there, and create a pool of venture funding.
- The traditional
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) in academics needs to
be replaced with STEAM (A for Art).
- India should not look at just the domestic
market, but look to cater services even to developed countries that will
face skilled workforce shortage by 2020.
- India needs to prepare to cater to the demand
and aim to be a part of the global supply chain ecosystem through customer
credibility.
Moral of the Story !!!
The Silicon Valley in the USA was the meeting
point of the American work ethics which focuses on freedom to explore new
things, cherishes creativity and sees failures as the stepping stone to success
and the heady WWII days of heavy State funding on defense and the institutional
support provided by the Stanford University.
To build a Silicon Valley in India the above
mentioned work ethics, governmental support and institutional support is needed
more than brick and mortar structures. When seen in this perspective Indian IT
cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad which at their present levels are more like
the backroom office for the global IT majors and therefore devoid intellectual
application and original thinking.
Despite
the myriad challenges, India still has the population and economy to kickstart
a startup revolution. What it needs is the delivery of a long list of reforms
and that change in work ethic culture to turn its traders into businessmen and
graduates into entrepreneurs.
