Book stack

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

Review : Billions of Entrepreneurs by Tarun Khanna 0

“Billions of Entrepreneurs – How China and India are reshaping their futures and yours”  compares the economic growth of China and India. While most of the India story like Infosys and ICICI bank  is familiar to a person staying in India, it notes how the importance given to technical excellence in China has resulted in the development of the infrastructure of the country. It provides insights on the banking system in China, state control / holding patterns in companies and corruption levels. It  shows how China has increased its influence in South East Asia, especially Burma (Myanmar) while many of the Indian origin people in that country have left. Most news reports carry information on China’s high economic growth rate, but this book helps you understand how the Chinese economy actually works.  

Book : Billions of Entrepreneurs  – How China and India are reshaping their futures and yours by Tarun Khanna

Pages: 351

Publisher : Penguin Books India , 2009

Review: Maximum City, Bombay Lost & Found by Suketu Mehta 0

The book Maximum City ,Bombay Lost & Found covers the many aspects of  Bombay (now Mumbai) such as the riots of 1992 -93, the film industry, the diamond merchants, the runaway poet and a Jain family taking Diksha (with backup insurance in place) . Though many aspects of the city have changed in the last decade, this is perhaps the most well researched book on the city I have read.  The writer has spent a lot of time speaking to and observing the life of the people he has written about. The writer spent his childhood in the city and has a network of relatives in the city, and captures the changes in the city over the last 3 decades (except the last decade).

The book is very well written, and is broken into chapters for each aspect of the city. A good read if you want a glimpse of Mumbai in the 1990’s.

Review : Maximum City ,Bombay Lost & Found by Suketu Mehta

Pages: 584

Publisher : Penguin Books India , 2006