Opinion How incredible is India?

For centuries India been renowned for its trading business. A new culture has recently emerged—-that of downloading. But when will we ever become an inventive society that uploads into the Internet,and not merely downloads? ‘Innovation’ has become an industry buzzword,used as a business tactic to satisfy shareholders in quarterly results. In developed countries,physical inventions are uploaded on the World Wide Web as e-information. Those who can afford a computer in India take the opportunity to download it.

Evolving from being conquerors to cowboys to inventors,Americans have made their country rich and famous. Their inventions have changed people’s working conditions and living standards. The US has become an economic power to reckon with. Just take ten American companies—GE,Bell,IBM,Coca-Cola,McDonalds,3M,Xerox,Microsoft,Apple and Nike—that have become the biggest brands in the world. Their initial initiative was inventive. These brands acquired power not with media hype and advertisement. They had fundamental innovation at inception,which ensured they stayed on in the subconscious minds of the consumers.

There may be heavy criticism of the US encouraging mass consumerism. But nobody can deny that mass consumption has democratised human rights in developed countries. Painter Andy Warhol,who made pop art famous,had said that America is great because,“the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You know the President drinks Coke,Liz Taylor drinks Coke,and you can drink Coke,too. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good.”

Undoubtedly,access to money led to consumerism,but the industry’s approach has always been inventive to improve American life. A basic American family cannot afford a Trump Tower restaurant in New York’s 5th Avenue but a few dollars will buy his entire family a sumptuous meal at McDonald’s nearby the Trump Tower. Chains like McDonald’s invented quality processes in sourcing,manufacture,service and globalisation so that there is complete predictability in what they offer,no matter where in the world they are located.

In India’s unequal society,the biggest population chunk earns below Rs 10,000 a month. Our millionaires or billionaires living in Western style comfort may need no invention,but everyone else in India requires inventions that have the flavour of India’s soil,just like Americans invented for American people. Most inventions in the US—even those that have come from the richest man,Bill Gates—seem to have started in the garage. Perhaps inventions will happen in slums here. Can we hope that by 2020,the minimum wages of an individual will become Rs 25,000 per month as per today’s monetary valuation? If that becomes feasible,we will realise the Government of India’s vision of becoming a developed country by 2020.

Most Indian companies target the populous “bottom of the pyramid” to sell their products to,but pay scant attention to how these poor people will afford these low priced goods. People have to earn first. Only when their buying power becomes powerful,can there be a robust pyramid of human society.

To achieve the status of being a developed country,India requires soil relevant invention. What does this mean? Here are three idea examples that an India-specific invention has to achieve.

1. The yearly income of a two-acre landowning farmer has to increase from Rs 40,000 to Rs 300,000. 2. Porters should get an auto-mechanised device to transport heavy loads. This will power his everyday working efficiency for earning Rs 25,000 per month. 3. A totally moulded,minimally mechanised and service-proof four-wheeler vehicle with very low cost of ownership can be created for use in transportation of commercial goods and for the family’s lifestyle purpose.

Britain’s Industrial Revolution from the 1760s auto-mechanised everything,and facilitated high productivity with reduced labour. This improved people’s living style. For India to really become incredible,we need a revolution of India-centric invention of auto-mechanised devices for 70 per cent of our billion-plus people. That would get rid of poverty too. To represent India as a developed country,a certain homogeneity is required among the poor and rich. It’s every individual’s human right to get a certain level of comfort in life at both the workplace and the home. After that,merit can take a person far into boundaryless achievement depending on every individual’s drive and calibre.

The West has proved that functional devices can end slavery and improve human life. Privileged Indians should take a call to abolish the unofficial “slavery” of the underprivileged where sub-minimum wages are paid for unorganised sectors.

Helping the poor with money makes them the dependent poor. We need to give them an instrument for personal growth. In other words,no free fish,give a fishing rod to catch fish everyday. This is the way incredible India can really fall in place. To change India’s inequality we need the INDIA acronym to become Innovative Nation Driving Inventive Action (INDIA). Such a disruption will make India incredible in its essence.

Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top management. http://www.shiningconsulting.com