Now, let me talk about the effect(s) that this change should have on the people. If I were to summarize it in one sentence, I would say that the next big innovation would seek to unify the masses rather than discriminate among them. It would serve as a frame of common reference that would be accessible and more importantly, affordable for the majority of the populace. This is in line with what I had mentioned previously – that the change mandatorily needs to be inclusive. If we take the example of a country as diverse as India where the society is both horizontally and vertically stratified, then it needs to percolate and positively impact people from all those strata. In other words, it should be a means to try and demolish the incumbent diversity in society.
Another very important aspect that needs attention is recognizing the innovation when it happens and giving it the due support. This support needs to be in the form of financial backing, technical expertise, regulatory clearances, etc. It is very easy to dismiss ideas as either too ambitious or too redundant and in doing so, we might have already lost out on a million viable ones that were worth pursuing. The spirit of entrepreneurship needs to be rekindled at the earliest and it needs to be done everywhere in the world, especially in places which are not very familiar with it. More tolerance towards entrepreneurial ideas would imply more people putting creative thought into solving persistent problems and consequently, would imply better solutions and enhanced productivity levels.
I have always maintained that entrepreneurship would be the means for both job creation as well as wealth creation, and hence, investing in it is non-negotiable for any country. Once this is taken care of, the next big innovation would just be a matter of time. The only flipside to it would be the fact that we would realize its impact only in hindsight. But that should not be a major deterrent at all because, at the same time, it gives all of us an equal opportunity of becoming great and making it to the pages of history.
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