India has become regular as a global hub for innovation, powered by a dynamic start -up culture and a deep reservoir of STEM talents. With breakthroughs in fintech, pharmacy and space technology, the country has proven its potential to scale world class solutions. But as India increases on the global graphics of innovation, veterans of the industry like Sridhar Vembu say that it is time to become more ambitious – and more honest – on where the country is really.
Sridhar Vembu, founder and former CEO of Zoho Corporation, calls for a clearer and more deliberate concentration on innovation in India – in particular the private sector. In a recent article on X (formerly Twitter), VEMBU presented its assessment of India’s innovation ecosystem in four distinct categories: process, product, technology and scientific breakthroughs.
“This is how I assess our country’s capacities in terms of innovation,” he wrote, assigning scores and suggestions in a frank self-assessment.
For process innovation, VEMBU has evaluated India at 70%, citing world -class performance in sectors such as airlines, hospitals, retail and financial services. “We have to adopt process innovations in smaller and medium-sized companies,” he noted.
But the score decreases sharply with regard to product innovation, which it set at only 35%. “It could even be optimistic,” he admitted. While innovations like UPI show what is possible, he highlighted the need for more creators of visionary products: “Our industry needs products … in addition to effective project managers.”
On technological innovation, Vembu did not offer any score – just a challenge. India exports a large part of its technological talent, he said, and keeping them or bringing them requires creating ambitious opportunities. “This must be a major objective for our private sector.”
As for scientific breakthroughs, Vembu was frank: “We did not even appear for the exam here.” He argued that even if the private company must lead the first three fronts, it is the government which must finance deep science. “Technological innovations follow scientific breakthroughs, often with very long delays,” he wrote. “We need the equivalent of Bell Labs in the private sector.”
