Mumbai: This is an interesting infographic. Striking. I believe that the emergence of unicorns is closely linked to the policy environment in which they operate. If India wishes to create and retain a larger number of globally competitive unicorns, government policies must evolve to encourage innovation, entrepreneurship, risk-taking, and the scaling of technology-driven enterprises.
The success of many Indian-origin entrepreneurs in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries is particularly instructive. It demonstrates that Indian talent is among the best in the world. There are so many of them within the country who need encouragement through policy and removal of red tape. The question, therefore, is not whether India produces capable entrepreneurs, but whether the domestic ecosystem enables them to build and scale world-class companies.
There are two possible explanations. One is that many of India’s most talented individuals have migrated abroad, resulting in a concentration of entrepreneurial talent in other economies. The other, and perhaps more significant, is that these countries have created policy frameworks that better support innovation through easier access to capital, simpler regulations, stronger intellectual property protection, predictable taxation, world-class research universities, and a culture that rewards entrepreneurship.
India has made remarkable progress over the past decade through initiatives such as Startup India, Digital India, and improvements in the ease of doing business. We should be proud of it. Yet the next phase of growth will require policy reforms that reduce regulatory hurdles, facilitate technology commercialization, deepen venture capital and patient capital markets, strengthen university–industry collaboration, and make it easier for startups to scale globally while remaining headquartered in India.
The objective should not merely be to increase the number of unicorns, but to build enduring technology companies that generate high-value employment, create intellectual property, strengthen manufacturing and innovation ecosystems, and contribute significantly to India’s long-term economic growth. How academia should change the goal to be the real change makes for the realisation of Vikasit Bharat.
(Prof G D Yadav, Bhatnagar Fellow, Emeritus Professor of Eminence and former VC ICT Mumbai.)