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A country that is bound to be the most populous country in the world within 25 years, India undoubtedly has some of the brightest tech minds in t he world. But when it comes to true outliers who go above and beyond and are able to create something truly revolutionary - think Google, Apple, Twitter, Microsoft or Facebook - none of these tech companies have come from India. A country filled with so much technology potential, one must wonder how not even a single brilliant entrepreneur was able to produce a world renowned technology company?Innovative entrepreneurs- hip is what is lacking in India. If India promoted the right type of environment where, instead of competing against each other, entrepreneurs could boldly innovate on a global level, true entrepreneurship would arise, where the passion to create something great can be materialised through one's environment. In other words, the environment cultivates entrepreneurship instead of inhibiting it. Another pitfall for entrepreneurship in India that must be mentioned has to do with venture capitalists. Venture capitalists in India are very much like the companies that they fund: since most companies in India end up replicating things that already exist (but perhaps at a discounted price or catered towards the domestic market), venture capitalists in India in turn are more willing to fund these same companies rather than truly innovative companies. If the idea has not been tried, tested and proven, an entrepreneur is less likely to get funding in India versus the West.Venture capitalists have a different approach in India. Valuation places a higher focus on cost vs. revenues and encourages funding of ideas that already exist in the West. In other words, truly innovative ideas on a global scale are less likely to get funding. Despite all this, there is a silver lining to this column: we know the problems that are preventing youngsters from becoming the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. NRIs in the West are already spearheading cutting-edge companies that are competing on a global scale. Why should there be any reason for Indians, born and raised in India, not to do the same? So the next time you come across a particularly shy 13-year-old who appears to be just a little different than his peers, who is perhaps overly obsessed with a certain hobby and who might even make you slightly uncomfortable, you might want to think twice before dismis- sing him as a lost cause. You could very well be looking at India's first, iconic, global entrepreneur in the making. Raghu Kumar is the co-founder of RKSV, a leading low-cost broking firm. The opinions expressed here are the personal opinions of the author. NDTV is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability or validity of any information given here. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing on the blog do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

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