New Delhi, January 14, 2014: Indian-American technology entrepreneur and academic Vivek Wadhwa* has urged India to re-invent itself from a nation of IT professionals to technology innovators.
The author of the 2012 book "The Immigrant Exodus: Why America Is Losing the Global Race to Capture Entrepreneurial Talent", who in June 2013, was named to Time magazine's list of the Top 40 Most Influential Minds in Tech, pointed at the massive opportunity that exists in solving problems related to Healthcare, Energy, Water, low cost information technology and additive manufacturing.
Speaking at the recently launched ‘10,000 start-ups’ programme of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), Wadhwa's mantra to young entrepreneurs was: “Forget the US of A, stick to India”.
The agenda was to acquaint young Indian tech entrepreneurs with the disruptions that are taking place globally in the field of technology and how India startups can leverage these innovations to solve humanity’s grand challenges.
Wadhwa, who is Director of research at Duke University and fellow at Stanford Law School added: "Technology is advancing so rapidly that by the end of this decade, industries will be decimated and newer industries will emerge. There are many opportunities available for startups today to create tomorrow’s billion dollar businesses and to start solving some of humanity’s grand challenges. Today, India is at the verge of an Internet boom—greater than what the US experienced and there are many opportunities entrepreneurs can tap to solve big problems for India and the world.”
He  said  healthcare is undergoing a tectonic shift and smartphones are poised to replace doctors for more than 80% of health related problems. Medicine is increasingly becoming digital and Indians have the opportunity to build apps and medical records for patients globally. He added that due to advancements in Genome sequencing which has drastically brought the costs down, in the next 20-30 years, medicines are going to be prescribed based on Genome which opens a floodgate of opportunities for software developers.
Wadhwa suggested that 3D Printing is the next big thing and most large companies are today depending upon 3D Printing for their design projects. Indians today must explore the possibilities in 3D Printing and unlike the 70s or 80s, Indians today have the same information as entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley have thanks to the Internet.
*Wikipedia on Vivek Wadhwa