Written by A Deep Dive Into Culture, Education, Mindset, and Entrepreneurial Risk
Setting the Context
India today stands at a remarkable inflection point. We are the world’s fastest-growing major economy, the world’s largest talent pool in STEM, and a global hub for IT delivery, outsourcing, and digital infrastructure. Yet, despite this enormous potential, India has still not produced breakthrough global technology products on the scale of Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Tesla, Uber, Nvidia, or OpenAI.
We excel at implementation, process excellence, cost optimization, and imitation—but struggle when it comes to first-principle innovation, category creation, and deep-tech breakthroughs.
This paradox raises a fundamental question—Why? Why does a nation of brilliant engineers, global CEOs, and entrepreneurial youth still lag when it comes to creating world-conquering tech products?
In a conversation with Arnab Goswami (ref: video at timestamp 1:37:02), Narayana Murthy offered a simple but profound answer:
“We need to go back to the grassroots—our schools—and rebuild the system to encourage creativity, curiosity, and out-of-the-box thinking.”
This paper explores the deeper systemic and cultural reasons behind India’s innovation gap—spanning education, social conditioning, risk tolerance, and societal attitudes toward failure—and what must change if India is to transition from imitator to innovator.
1. The Education System: Designed for Consumption, Not Creation
1.1 Learning by Memorizing, Not by Understanding
A pervasive culture of rote memorization, driven by an exam-oriented system, stifles the creativity and critical thinking essential for research. Most universities, with few exceptions, lack a strong research culture, adequate infrastructure, and sufficient funding, remaining primarily teaching-centric. Its more commercial oriented than student oriented.
India’s schooling system revolves around:
- rote learning
- repetitive exams
- standardized answers
- textbook-driven knowledge
This produces students who can recall, but not necessarily think.
Research from the Brookings Institution shows that India ranks low on metrics of applied learning and problem-solving, despite high exam performance.
1.2 Creativity Is Not a Learning Objective
Countries that produce breakthrough innovation—like the U.S., Israel, South Korea, and Finland—emphasize:
- creativity
- inquiry-based learning
- hands-on experimentation
- design thinking
- interdisciplinary exploration
In contrast, Indian children grow up hearing:
- “Don’t question elders.”
- “Follow what the teacher says.”
- “This is how it’s always been done.”
Conformity is equated with discipline. Curiosity is controlled, not cultivated.
1.3 Early Conditioning Kills Intellectual Risk
When children are rewarded for obedience and punished for questioning, they grow up fearing:
- challenging authority
- proposing unconventional ideas
- experimenting
- tinkering
- failing
Innovation requires rebellion, non-conformity, and permission to think differently—traits that the Indian system suppresses early in life.
2. The Cultural Fear of Failure: India’s Biggest Innovation Barrier
2.1 The Stigma Around Failure
In Silicon Valley, failure is a badge of learning. In India, failure is a lifelong label. Indian society celebrates stability, safety, and “secure jobs,” not risk-taking.
Narayana Murthy once said:
“Entrepreneurship is about experimentation. And experimentation comes with failure.”
But in India, the moment an entrepreneur fails, society responds with suspicion, moral judgment, and mocking headlines.
2.2 Contrasting Global Examples
Globally, some of the world’s most iconic entrepreneurs faced massive failures:
- Elon Musk nearly went bankrupt trying to keep Tesla alive.
- Richard Branson faced near-collapse with Virgin multiple times.
- Donald Trump filed for corporate bankruptcy four times before becoming U.S. President.
- Steve Jobs was fired from Apple—only to return and build the world’s most valuable company.
In these countries, risk is respected. Failure is tolerated.
2.3 The Indian Narrative: The Villainisation of Failed Businessmen
In India, the narrative is different. Entrepreneurs who fail are often demonized:
- Subrata Roy (Sahara)
- Vijay Mallya (Kingfisher Airlines)
- Kishore Biyani (Future Group)
- Byju Raveendran (BYJU’S)
- Anil Ambani
Without commenting on legal or ethical cases, one truth stands:
India doesn’t distinguish between failed risk-taking and criminal wrongdoing.
Anyone who fails—regardless of intent—is painted as a villain. This kills risk-taking at its root.
2.4 The Psychological Impact
When failure leads to:
- social ostracism
- media humiliation
- family shame
- political scrutiny
- bureaucratic harassment
…entrepreneurs and innovators naturally choose safer paths.
Innovation requires a tolerance for uncertainty, not fear of being socially destroyed.
3. Lack of a Problem-Solving Mindset
3.1 Execution Over Innovation
India is exceptional at:
- IT services
- process management
- cost-efficient delivery
- operational scale
- frugal engineering
But true innovation requires:
- identifying unsolved problems
- building from first principles
- long-term R&D
- high-risk experimentation
3.2 The Thomas Edison vs. Indian Student Contrast
- Thomas Edison failed 8,000 times while working on the light bulb.
- The Wright Brothers crashed their prototypes repeatedly before achieving powered flight.
- Dyson built 5,126 failed prototypes before launching the first Dyson vacuum.
Innovation cannot thrive in a culture that punishes those who try and fail.
In India, a single failure can end a career. You cannot build the next Apple or SpaceX without thousands of failed prototypes.
4. Systemic Weaknesses That Limit Breakthrough Creation
4.1 Low Investment in R&D
Countries like South Korea, Japan, Israel, and the U.S. invest 2–4% of GDP in R&D. India invests 0.7%, most of which is public-sector driven.
4.2 Weak Industry–Academia Collaboration
In the U.S., innovations like Google and Facebook were born inside university ecosystems. In India, universities rarely collaborate deeply with industry or startups.
4.3 Regulatory Complexity
Entrepreneurs face a maze of:
- compliance
- taxation
- permits
- regulatory uncertainty
Innovation thrives in environments where experimentation is easier.
4.4 Short-Term Investor Mindset
Indian capital often chases:
- quick returns
- low-risk ventures
- proven business models
Breakthrough innovation needs:
- patient capital
- deep-tech funding
- long-term belief
5. Mindset: The Final Missing Piece
5.1 India Aspires to Stability, Not Disruption
Generations have been told:
- “Don’t take risks.”
- “Get a safe job.”
- “Don’t embarrass the family.”
Innovation requires:
- rebels
- misfits
- non-conformists
- problem-solvers
- dreamers
5.2 A Culture That Celebrates Success, Not Attempt
As the saying goes:
“Silicon Valley celebrates attempt. India celebrates achievement.”
Until we celebrate attempt, we cannot achieve breakthrough.
Jugaad: Brilliant for Survival, Insufficient for Global Innovation
India is often celebrated for its culture of Jugaad—a unique ability to find low-cost, improvised, makeshift solutions with limited resources. From frugal engineering to clever street-level hacks, Jugaad reflects Indian ingenuity, resilience, and resourcefulness. It shows how Indians have learned to navigate constraints with creativity. This mindset has helped millions “make things work” when systems fail, and it has even inspired international interest in frugal innovation.
But while Jugaad is excellent for problem-solving in scarcity, it is not a pathway to world-class, scalable innovation.
Jugaad solutions are typically short-term, fragile, non-standardized, and dependent on improvisation rather than structured design, engineering rigor, or scientific repeatability. They work brilliantly for survival—but not for global scaling, safety, stability, or deep-tech breakthroughs. No one builds an Apple, Google, Tesla, Amazon, or SpaceX through Jugaad. Breakthrough innovation demands robust systems, long-term research, deep engineering talent, product discipline, quality standards, design thinking, and massive risk-taking—all of which go far beyond quick fixes.
Jugaad can spark creativity, but it cannot substitute for institutional innovation, structured R&D, or long-horizon invention. To lead globally, India must evolve from Jugaad-driven improvisation to science-driven innovation, backed by resilience, experimentation, investment, and a willingness to fail repeatedly in pursuit of excellence.
Conclusion: What India Must Do to Become a Global Innovation Leader
India has the talent, ambition, and market size to build world-changing technology. What we lack is the mindset, ecosystem, and cultural foundation for breakthrough innovation.
To transform India into an innovation powerhouse, we must:
1. Reform Education
- Introduce creativity and design thinking in early schooling.
- Shift from rote memorization to applied learning.
- Encourage questioning, debate, and curiosity.
2. Normalize Failure
- Stop demonizing failed entrepreneurs.
- Build a culture that treats failure as learning.
- Reform media narratives around business struggles.
3. Encourage Risk-Taking
- Celebrate experimenters, not just achievers.
- Give social respect to entrepreneurs—not just government employees or corporate managers.
4. Invest in R&D and Long-Term Innovation
- Boost national R&D spending.
- Strengthen university–industry collaboration.
- Support deep-tech ecosystems.
5. Change the Mindset
Innovation begins with a belief:
“I can think differently.” “I am allowed to fail.” “I can create something the world has never seen.”
If India rewires its mindset—starting from schools, families, and societal attitudes—it will no longer be a follower.
It will be a pioneer.
It will not imitate global ideas.
It will create them.
#Leadership, #Innovation, #Entrepreneurship, #India, #Startups, #Technology, #BusinessGrowth, #FutureOfIndia, #DigitalTransformation