The document discusses the potential of innovation in India as highlighted by various Chevening scholars and industry leaders like Eric Schmidt and Ramesh Manickam. It emphasizes the need for improved support systems for entrepreneurs and points out the success stories of individuals like Saleem Mohammed and Vikas Chawla, who leveraged their experiences to create impactful companies. The narrative suggests that a shift towards practical, life-oriented education could foster greater creativity and entrepreneurship among the youth in India.

1. innovation
Chevening Scholars’ Meet
Few faces of changing India...
In his first maiden visit to India, Eric Schmidt, They chose to be different!
R a m e s h M a n i c ka m , C E O, C e n -
Chairman Google Inc. stressed on the need for India troid Design, is a first generation
to focus on innovation to help local businesses. entrepreneur. His master’s degree
from IIT-Delhi and ten years work ex-
“There needs to be more innova- more familiar with societal problems. perience had given him the courage to
tion. The government, as part of its This exposure helps them to innovate venture out and set up the industrial
innovation agenda, should get rid of and revolutionalise the world. design studio which specialises in
any hurdles,” he said, at the NASS- Fo r a c o u n t r y o f 1 . 2 b i l l i o n areas of automotive and product
COM event. people, with the largest youth pop- design.
In Silicon Valley 40 per cent of the ulation, we complain of lack of Dr Saleem Mohammed, CEO and
start ups are owned by Indians, but innovation. At the recently held, Co-Founder, X Code Life Sciences, has
the creative exposure and support is Young Innovator-Chevening and UK a PhD in Bioinformatics. It was when
still nascent in India. Alumni meet organised by the British his parent suffered from diabetes that
Facemash, a simple application Deputy High Commission, Chennai, he wanted to find a solution to prevent
that Mark Zuckerberg and his friends an array of innovators and budding diseases. And thus X Code was born
Dr Saleem Mohammed Ramesh Manickam Vikas Chawla Sorav jain
coded during their Harvard days, led entrepreneurs shared their experi- which focuses on moving towards
them to disciplinary action then. But ences in taking to less trodden paths. personalised health care.
later it took shape as Facebook and Vikas Chawla, Founder Social beat
made him a millionaire at the age Chevening Scholars... and Head of marketing Koolkart, is an
of 23. Chevening scholarships and alumnus of London School of Eco-
College dropout Steve Jobs revo- fellowship programme is a flagship nomics. His passion for technology
lutionised the world with his ‘i’ programme of the British government and love to shop urged him to find the
suffixed products and attributed the which selects future leaders from online shopping website, Koolkart.
simplicity and sleekness of his 130 countries and provides them the Sorav Jain, Thinker-in- Chief,
devices to the knowledge he gained facilities for full time post-graduate echoVME, has a Masters from Leeds
through worldly pursuits. level courses with partial or full fund- University. He has designed and
Similar is the story of Bill Gates ing. The training gives the students implemented digital & social media
who left Harvard to set up Microsoft in the necessary exposure and prepares marketing strategies for some of
1975. Such stories of college drop outs them to aim high. Girija Vaidyana- the leading personal and corporate
becoming millionaires are common in than, IAS, Principal Secretary/CMD, brands.
western countries. Power Finance and Infrastructure These young entrepreneurs are
The education system, which for Development Corporation and San- faces of changing India, who have
generations emphasises on learning tosh Babu, IAS, Commissioner, Indian grasped emerging opportunities.
by rote, has degraded the creative Medicine and Homeopathy, Govern- Though they all took advantage
spirit of students. The western coun- ment of Tamil Nadu are Chevening of dynamic environment, they
terparts on the other hand are exposed scholars who reminiscence on their also pointed to the lack of support
to life-oriented education and become experiences. system. – JR
36 industrial economist april 2013