DailyPost 2040
TECHNOLOGY WAVES – DOES INDIA HAS AN UNCANNY KNACK OF MISSING IT?
It may sound weird, but over decades and may be even more we have been missing what the technology waves had to offer, by way of exploiting it; in application, commercially, and creating immense growth and wealth for the nation. If you gain the first mover advantage, you can maintain the lead to your advantage for a long time. The software product wave we missed in a big way and in the same continuum the iconic opportunity of creating product companies, that have changed the world. As we moved further we started missing out on innovation in the big way, the Steve Job phenomenon, we rather got into Jugaad. Next in line was Machine Learning / Artificial Intelligence, what we made out of it, if for all to see. And nearly simultaneously we have missed out on any large scale advantage of Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Industry 4.0.
The litany of Tech Misses Woes seems to be plaguing this country endlessly, not understanding its reason; talent, environment, regulatory mechanism, our DNA or a combination of all these. We have become a Technology Opportunity Missed Out Country. We should be awarded as the Best Tech User Nation Globally. We are making the same mistake at the onset of the Web3 revolution. The future of the internet seems to be leaving us in its infancy. This is the recent story; of the new brain drain, the web3 Indian start-ups are moving lock, stock and barrel, for a saner and predictable entrepreneurial future. Their new home is Dubai. The blatant reason is regulatory uncertainty and stiff taxes. It is well known that entrepreneurship is going on an untrodden path with an uncertain future.
They don’t want to add to this inherent handicap. Entrepreneurs as a class look for places where first of all they are welcome, supported and are provided with various benefits. Some cities and geographies make all out efforts to create favourable rules and regulations. Dubai is turning out to be such a location. It is becoming the epicenter of Web3, at least in this part of the world. India visibly is losing out and we are not doing anything about it. Opportunities cannot keep waiting for a lifetime, while you keep procrastinating on issues, which are as clear as the blue skies. Myopia is an avoidable or manageable ailment if we want to. The regulatory landscape is so uncertain, making it very difficult for an entrepreneur in this field, to make a confident leap of faith.
If you get into any of the Web3 meetups in Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru, every second founder of these startups have either moved to Dubai or is in transition. This is all for the great Start Up revolution, which India is going through. The emerging tech start ups are left out in the cold. They are the kernel on which the new internet is being built. Who knows which one of those will turn out like the current internet age giants, who seized opportunity in the last two decades or so. The transition is visible in Dubai. The Web3 events Dubai in March speak it all. The biggest ones were Binance Week and ETHDubai, where Indians made up the majority of attendees, with pictures being plastered across Twitter and Web3 Whatsapp groups. Technology waves are Tsunamis, the whimper mode of handling it, will not take us anywhere.
WE HAVE LOST OUT ON WEB3 EVEN WITHOUT A BATTLE.
Sanjay Sahay