Our politicians throw around metaphors of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Startup India’, while a significant percentage of government schools still doesn’t have a water connection. While programmes that help foster innovation in India are commendable, our policymakers and bureaucrats try to ape the most salient parts of the American innovation ecosystem without understanding its genesis or mechanics. As a US-educated researcher and engineer, I can perhaps comment on what lies beneath the tip of the innovation iceberg.
