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no invention from India in 60 years: n. r. narayana murthy

that is true enough... it requires a different mentality - one of questioning, simplifying for oneself, doubting the "wisdom" of the traditional elders ( including family ), taking risks, dropping out of college or job to pursue one's ideas, being confident about oneself, being confident about one's ability to judge a great idea of another person, being far-sighted, being ambitious, wanting to contribute to humanity etc... these are absent within majority of indians and this is partially to do with indian republic not coming from a revolution ( like ussr, libya ) or a armed struggle for independence ( like algeria ), but a society that had most of its structures been already prepared by the departing british colonialists.

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@Sky lord , your opinion on the topic?? do start from the op.
Hi Jamahir, what do you want me to say? I agree that we have too much rote learning in our schools and averse to taking risks, but that is mostly because india is still a poor country and for much if the past 60 years we were more concerned about saving ourselves from famine and starvation than anything higher order.

For the level of development we are at we have actually contributed much MORE to science than other countries at the same level of development. I would love to know of a single major invention from the arab world including Algeria or Libya in the last 60 years. By and large if you aggregate/compare countries with similar per capita income like. Bolivia or tonga or Syria, india has actually contributed MORE than these aforementioned countries.

Education is slowly improving, money is being put into research, I think the effects will be visible in a decade or so. The most important thing is to fix the economy, everything else will fall in place. If you look at second or third generation kids born to Indian parents in the West, not many are following in the safe paths of their parents, we have doctors kids going into acting and lawyers kids who start up bands, Professors kids who become professional sky divers. in fact isn't Murthy's son in law a politican ? Again not a normal or "looked up to" profession for the indian middle class. I do believe Indians are talented and hard working and our culture for thousands of years has respected education and the quest for knowledge, so sooner or later the chips will fall in place.
 
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@jamahir @Spectre
I really don't get the idea of asking non-Indians what's wrong with innovation in India. They may be observers but we have first hand experience.

We all have done our schooling, graduation, post-graduation etc.No disrespect to them, but from our experience, we should be able to tell what's wrong.

On the surface that might be the case, but most of the problems being faced by India are not uniquely Indian, rather most of subcontinent is facing them, but because of the size of India those problems might appear huge. It would always help to get perspective from others, it can be beneficial.
When we talk about educational system not being geared towards innovation, that is a problem being faced by most of south asia.


Then there is the problem of brain drain as well ! :(

Though in all fairness when you left for UAE there was in fact an alleviation of pressure on India's brain and the national IQ rose by a little ! :whistle:

Brain drain is a failure of a country to capitalize on the human resources available, not of the people or professionals. Its within everyones right to seek a better life, if one gets an opportunity to do so, nothing is wrong. In a way that could also help the country in the long run as those individuals could be open to idea of retuning once they feel ample opportunities are available in the home country. I have meet several US trained Chinese professors who have retuned to China and now teaching at Chinese universities, not only they are bringing in the experience but a more diverse view.

all we indian students do is MUG up and VOMIT in exam and Forget the next day.... no implimentation of ideas, no out of box thinking.....:(:(

Unfortunate reality, because from day one student are taught A for Apple and B for Ball, come exam time regurgitate the same and score high marks. From an early age south asian student worries about passing the exam and the whole system forces out any innovation left.


indian system
  • 2-5 years of rigorous training to get into IIT, just because salary after the course is exceptional. Life settled.
  • Mediocre brains work 4 years not even knowing what they want to study at Engineering
  • If you follow Commerce, Arts, Music or anything out-of-line one is considered a grave mistake.
  • Doctor is another respected education stream.
  • Admitting the hard-working not the deserving and interested.
  • If one is not pursuing JEE, it's because he's dumb! (General Concept)
  • You study so that you get a job, and sustainable income.
  • Quality of education different in different institutions.
  • Marks are important not knowledge. Cram and you will defeat the system bring it on its knee
  • Academic excellence has given more importance then extra corricular activities.
  • Reservation system plays big role in Indian education system

College is serious work in the USA. There is a lot of structural freedom, but GPA is very important, and colleges have very high quality of education at the university level. They take pride in attracting the best students and teachers, and constantly strive to keep syllabus updates to real world requirements. Most college graduates are eminently employable, unlike their counterparts in India, exceptions like the IITs apart.

At the Masters and Ph.D. level, it takes a great deal of effort in the USA, but life is relatively easier in India. If someone holds a masters degree from a university in the USA, it really means that person knows something in that subject. In India, this is debatable. A lot of Ph.D.s coming out of India are also dubious. infact students do PhD to get a simple job. no actual research work happens

moreover,The budget for implementation of the RTE Act throughout the country is just half of the amount spent on the 2010 Commonwealth Games, so funds are scarcely the problem.

This kind of attitude is a grim reminder of times before Independence when foreign rulers and the upper class discouraged the idea that poor Indian children should be empowered with education.

In 1891, a proposal in the Imperial Legislative Assembly for free and compulsory education for all was opposed by the upper class and the ruling British. Maharaja Darbhanga went one step further and gathered 11,000 signatures from the influential creamy layer to oppose the move. The argument was: if everyone was to go to school, who would tend to their agricultural land?
It is clearly not lack of funds that is a hindrance in implementation of the RTE Act but lack of intent and political will.


Sadly that is true, but unfortunately the US primary education system is in a nose dive and over the next few decades we shall see the results of that. But one thing that is abundantly clear, our education system is based on preparing people to get jobs and make a living, innovation and original thinking is discouraged and the whole point of getting a degree is to settle in life. I am not saying there is something wrong with it, but at the end of the day we are merely followers not innovators.


India one day will be the biggest innovator of the world. It is just a natural progression. During independence India was barealy 10% literate. Today we up to 80%.

India is not yet ready for Innovation boom. It is at a very nascent stage right now when it comes to innovation and New idea culture. But it is getting there slowly.

That is like wishing that one day you will become a millionaire without actually doing anything towards that goal. There is no doubt about the huge potential but unfortunately there are no proper tools available to nurture and enable the student to have skepticism and creativity. Its all about an obsolete education system, preparing people for jobs which might not exist 15 years down the road.
 
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Unfortunate reality, because from day one student are taught A for Apple and B for Ball, come exam time regurgitate the same and score high marks. ft.

Not necessarily

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Indian innovation?
 
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