When India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Silicon Valley last weekend, he met some of the most influential, innovative and wealthy Indians in the world. Two of the planet's most powerful technology companies have CEOs of Indian origin: Microsoft's Satya Nadella and Google's Sundar Pichai. Indeed, one study found that 15 percent of all Silicon Valley startups in 2012 were led by Indians, even though they comprised only 6 percent of the area's population.
The question Modi should ask himself is this: Why hasn't India been able to replicate, even in some small measure, Silicon Valley's top-end technology ecosystem? Why haven't Indians been able to create a Google or Facebook in Bangalore?
The question may sound counterintuitive. If there's one thing India is known for abroad, besides poverty, it's the country's prowess in information technology. How often have you heard the assertion that if China is the factory of the world, India is its back office? Modi has repeated the boast; so has China's President Xi Jinping.