Book stack

February, 2011 archive

Review: From Jugaad to Systematic Innovation by Rishikesha T Krishnan 0

” From Jugaad to Systematic Innovation – The Challenge for India”  studies why despite having second largest population in the world, India is not a source of major innovation. It examines the government support, industrial and social factors which have lead to the growth of innovation in hi tech  countries like USA, Israel, Taiwan , Japan and Korea. Though the software industry has grown rapidly in the last decade, it basically a service industry and the wealth generated has not been used for developing new products . Also most Indian businesses are family owned ,so if the owners have limited expertise in technology, they are unlikely to invest large amounts in it.

A lot of innovation involves experimentation and failure, and in Indian society failure is not condoned.  There is little collaboration between large and small Indian companies, because large companies often do not treat the smaller company fairly (from personal experience with a few exceptions). The author also comments on the inability of Indian companies to recognise technical expertise in Indians who have lived and worked in India however good they may be ,they believe that only foreigners/ foreign returned are the best.

Book: From Jugaad to Systematic Innovation by Rishikesha T Krishnan

Pages : 197

Publisher : The Utpreraka Foundation, Bangalore, India