Over the past two decades since liberalisation, a number of trends have begun converging and leading to a critical mass of the elements needed for a breakout in entrepreneurship.

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First, of course, is the dramatic rise in the number of young people who have earned a good technical or business education.

Second is the phenomenal rise in the value of our market capitalisation, which provides the incentive to these young people to stay on in India and look for the payoff right here at home.

Since 2007, Indians have founded 8 per cent of all technology and engineering startups in the US, and 14 per cent of all Silicon Valley companies.

Obviously we have entrepreneurship in our DNA. It’s time to bring the show back home.

The third is the much-awaited sprouting of venture capital firms and networks which provide the necessary fuel for startups. Despite problems of exit, PE and VC investments grew by 46 per cent in the first half of fiscal 2014 and organisations like the Indian Angel network are growing like a virus.

The Indian government only last week announced its plans to set up a $1 billion venture fund that would be seeded by Silicon Valley heroes of ethnic Indian origin.

Finally, and most important, is the role of new technologies in generating a multiplicity of options for new business models. Information technology spawned a generation of Indian businesses in the outsourcing arena during the nineties. But the internet and smart connectivity are generating new ventures to a degree that will dwarf that outsourcing boom. Internet penetration is finally gathering steam, and new and cheap smartphones will dramatically deepen that penetration.

Perspiration payoff In this arena, Indian startups don’t suffer the disadvantages of the old generation of entrepreneurs for whom poor infrastructure was a major impediment.

Technology allows us to trump infrastructure. In fact, the lack of physical infrastructure itself offers entrepreneurial opportunities to provide virtual infrastructure. For example, impossible traffic conditions and congested cities will accelerate e-commerce in India. And poor recreational facilities only mean that our dependence on 4G-enabled entertainment in the palm of our hands will explode.

Unlike some of the closely held industrial technologies of the past, today’s technology already resides in India and there is nothing to prevent a tiny team, say, in Bangalore, from making the world its market.

It’s no surprise then, that Facebook recently bought a small startup called Little Eye Labs in Bangalore, giving them an early payoff to their perspiration. This is just the beginning of a tidal wave of such buyouts, which will only serve to enhance the incentives for risk-takers.

Technology is also a wildly disruptive force in shaping industry structure. Facebook pays $19 billion for WhatsApp and makes giant telcos shiver because of their plan to offer free telephony. Technologies such as 3D printing and embedded intelligence are turbo-charging traditional manufacturing and enhancing its competitiveness. Hence I see no reason why India can’t lead the world in “intelligent” manufacturing, and small factory startups could very well challenge the hegemony of older and larger manufacturing companies.

If the old competitive landscape could be compared to a placid river upon which giant barges had right of way, think of this new disruptive and unpredictable competitive environment as white water rapids, which are better suited to small and nimble kayaks that can manoeuvre between the shifting currents. Evolution is now favouring the small and the agile, and the old barriers to entry are fast eroding.

Embracing the environment I say again, the age of entrepreneurship is upon us, and I urge you to embrace it. Not just because of the economic rewards that lie in store for you, but also because your innovation could provide the much-needed answers to the many problems that still snap at our heels.

This country is crying out for better healthcare, education, nutrition, water and sanitation. Your creativity can provide opportunity for you to do well even as you do good.

This is not to downplay the virtues and the rewards of a more conventional career option. I compliment all of you who have landed plum jobs at blue-chip firms and consultancies and Investment banks. In fact, I sincerely hope at least one of you might have chosen my group to work with.

But I worry that if a good number of you have not chosen to leverage this age of entrepreneurship, then who will?

If an IIM grad does not showcase the ‘next big thing’, then who will? If one of you does not build a new age company that will command the admiration of the globe, then who will?

Yes, many of you who try to be entrepreneurs will fail. But the failure to try, the failure to take any risk is perhaps the greatest failure of all. On the other hand, if you learn to celebrate the learnings that come from failure, then I guarantee you that success will eventually come, and that however enjoyable a time you’ve had in college and here at IIM, your best days will indeed lie ahead of you.

As you continue your journey, one thing you can count on, the rules of the game are going to change. Make sure you’re the one changing them.

Good luck and Godspeed.

The writer is the chairman and managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra. This is an edited excerpt from a speech delivered at IIM-Ahmedabad’s 49th annual convocation on March 22, 2014

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