Ample opportunities now mean we need to leapfrog, not incrementalise
ET CONTRIBUTORS|
Updated: Dec 23, 2017, 01.48 PM IST
By Pramod Bhasin
India is fast approaching to become the largest startup nation in the world, second only to, perhaps, China. The spirit of entrepreneurship in the country, the fact that it is copacetic and has an electric momentum, is quite phenomenal. The first edges of this movement have the potential to create employment and change how we work and think.
The fact that we have so many young brains working astonishingly well together is unprecedented. And this demographic dividend is unmatched by any other country in the world as India has entered a stage where entrepreneurial minds are creating a platform for accelerated economic growth.
The other factor adding to this growth is technology, which is changing everything that we do today. Apart from making strides in the personal sector, technology is changing the way industries and people work. IoT, robotics and communications are reconstructing the way core industries in energy, power, water, informatics work. They are making it more accessible and easier to understand, deploy and use.
There is, however, a generational divide between those who fear the impact of technology and those who embrace it. Like our youth, we should endorse it as there is nothing that creates more change and opportunity as technology does. Hence, the hysteria around jobs lost to novel technology is completely misplaced.
Instead of looking at the ineptitudes the future may hold, we should look at the scope and gaps in the market. Quite dismally, India is way behind the curve when it comes to education, water, energy, power, and infrastructure. We are far behind in financial inclusion, healthcare and cutting-edge technology. The opportunity to fill these gaps is massive and, therefore, the opportunity to have more entrepreneurship.
Sadly, successive governments have not paid enough attention to transforming and reforming our education system which is woefully inadequate. I have never understood why, since no country can make substantial progress without a strong education system. As the convergence of all sectors is due leading to a growth spurt, without education, we will leave the next generations short of modern skills required to navigate the future economy.
We need to leapfrog and not incrementalise. For example, education needs to evolve in India, but cannot be solved by having more students per school. Similarly, we cannot solve the water problem by regulating consumption, nor can we reduce pollution through small-scale activities. The need of the hour is dramatic solutions.
We as a culture must learn to take risks to bring about these dramatic changes. Fear of failure and lack of jobs and alternatives have always held us back. Now, opportunities arising from enterprise innovation initiatives and businesses are helping dissipate our fear of uncertainty; the willingness to take up challenges is what will define us.
However, while we have made progress in our ranking on the ease of doing business (albeit, measured only in Delhi and Mumbai), doing business in India at the ground level remains hard. Entrepreneurs must deal with the debacles of red-tapism, local policies, permits, regulations and licenses. Yet, technology is the saving grace as its use is making people move from conventional industry practices to the wide acceptance of entrepreneurship, startups and their changes.
Having said that, India also needs to mature when it comes to accepting failed entrepreneurs and startups. The nature of disruption is to fail, which is good because it gives rise to alternatives, room for improvement and new opportunities. Be that as it may, we need to move away from the glamour of startups and hype of failure. The media needs to understand that startups have existed for decades. Genpact, Infosys, Wipro have all been startups once. The fact is that there is ample opportunity now, and we need to leapfrog, embrace change and leverage technology.
(Pramod Bhasin, President, TiE Delhi-NCR)
India is fast approaching to become the largest startup nation in the world, second only to, perhaps, China. The spirit of entrepreneurship in the country, the fact that it is copacetic and has an electric momentum, is quite phenomenal. The first edges of this movement have the potential to create employment and change how we work and think.
The fact that we have so many young brains working astonishingly well together is unprecedented. And this demographic dividend is unmatched by any other country in the world as India has entered a stage where entrepreneurial minds are creating a platform for accelerated economic growth.
The other factor adding to this growth is technology, which is changing everything that we do today. Apart from making strides in the personal sector, technology is changing the way industries and people work. IoT, robotics and communications are reconstructing the way core industries in energy, power, water, informatics work. They are making it more accessible and easier to understand, deploy and use.
There is, however, a generational divide between those who fear the impact of technology and those who embrace it. Like our youth, we should endorse it as there is nothing that creates more change and opportunity as technology does. Hence, the hysteria around jobs lost to novel technology is completely misplaced.
Instead of looking at the ineptitudes the future may hold, we should look at the scope and gaps in the market. Quite dismally, India is way behind the curve when it comes to education, water, energy, power, and infrastructure. We are far behind in financial inclusion, healthcare and cutting-edge technology. The opportunity to fill these gaps is massive and, therefore, the opportunity to have more entrepreneurship.
Sadly, successive governments have not paid enough attention to transforming and reforming our education system which is woefully inadequate. I have never understood why, since no country can make substantial progress without a strong education system. As the convergence of all sectors is due leading to a growth spurt, without education, we will leave the next generations short of modern skills required to navigate the future economy.
We need to leapfrog and not incrementalise. For example, education needs to evolve in India, but cannot be solved by having more students per school. Similarly, we cannot solve the water problem by regulating consumption, nor can we reduce pollution through small-scale activities. The need of the hour is dramatic solutions.
We as a culture must learn to take risks to bring about these dramatic changes. Fear of failure and lack of jobs and alternatives have always held us back. Now, opportunities arising from enterprise innovation initiatives and businesses are helping dissipate our fear of uncertainty; the willingness to take up challenges is what will define us.
However, while we have made progress in our ranking on the ease of doing business (albeit, measured only in Delhi and Mumbai), doing business in India at the ground level remains hard. Entrepreneurs must deal with the debacles of red-tapism, local policies, permits, regulations and licenses. Yet, technology is the saving grace as its use is making people move from conventional industry practices to the wide acceptance of entrepreneurship, startups and their changes.
Having said that, India also needs to mature when it comes to accepting failed entrepreneurs and startups. The nature of disruption is to fail, which is good because it gives rise to alternatives, room for improvement and new opportunities. Be that as it may, we need to move away from the glamour of startups and hype of failure. The media needs to understand that startups have existed for decades. Genpact, Infosys, Wipro have all been startups once. The fact is that there is ample opportunity now, and we need to leapfrog, embrace change and leverage technology.
(Pramod Bhasin, President, TiE Delhi-NCR)
