Good news! India already has 3 out of the 4Cs that every country needs to become an innovation hub

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Good news! India already has 3 out of the 4Cs that every country needs to become an innovation hub “It’s in the face of obstacles and problems that innovation and entrepreneurship can be nurtured…” - Tata Son’s Director Mr R Rajagopalakrishnan, who was also a part of the eminent jury at the recently held Ericsson Innovation Awards, said as he addressed a hall packed with students on Saturday.
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While enlightening the students as to how really they should be looking at the startup era, Mr Rajagopalakrishnan asked the young generation to see opportunities in obstacles and learn to see the glass half-full rather than see it half-empty.

​ALSO READ: These 5 legendary points by one of India Inc’s stalwarts is what every budding entrepreneur in India must learn by heart!

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“India is a large country with large problems. You name the problems and we have it - How to get to work, how to get a glass of clean water, how to get kids admission in school etc.” he said.

“If there’s anyone who gets exasperated with this country and its problems”, Mr Gopalakrishnan said he or she is actually seeing the same object and coming to the opposite conclusion.

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Because he believes the more there are obstacles, the greater scope there is for innovation. And therefore, he shared with everyone 4Cs, he feels any society or community needs in order to spur innovation:

Challenge: “India has it in abundance and therefore, it is haven for innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Creativity – “When a human being is faced with a challenge, you have to solve that problem. Call it ‘jugaad’ or innovation, but coming up with that solution requires creativity. And so, India is genetically evolved to be creative. It is not something to be proud of or ashamed of, it is a reality that needs to be recognized. No other human being grows from childhood to adulthood solving as many problems as an Indian does. One can choose to see it negatively, but it can also be positive because it depends on how you look at it.”

Communication – “Being talkative is in an Indian’s blood. It’s very difficult to shut them up. It’s how they are in their public and social life. You may find it annoying, but the positive side is - in exchanging notes, there's a certain creative process going on.”

While India has all three of the above, what it does not have is:

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Channelizing – “Why I applaud today's event is that we are trying to bring discipline and channelization in not just coming up with an idea, but also in taking it forward to the next stage. This is what we need.”

For Sony Ericsson Innovation Awards, students from across 14 premier engineering institutes of country including IITs, IISC, BITS Pilani and IIITs, pitched their ideas for innovative start-ups, vying for the three top prize, which included a cash prize of Rs 13 lakh for each, and an incubation tenure with the research and development wing of Ericsson.