Stories by Venkatesh Ganapathy

  Innovation is the exploitation of creative potential to generate ideas that can be commercialized through entrepreneurial spirit and verve. In the last few years, technology has had a supreme influence on innovation management. But have you ever wondered about the other side of this development? In most cases, it appears as though entrepreneurial innovations have been spurred more by the lure of green bucks and generation of business profits at any cost – ethical norms and governance principles be damned. Ironically, most start-ups claim to have attracted investments from abroad despite the fact that their losses have consistently subsumed their operational efficiencies. It is akin to a situation where the municipality makes great efforts to clean the roads only to have people dump their garbage again and again. A vicious cycle indeed! Thus the start-ups will make losses but continue to attract investments which will make them more complacent so that they can afford to make more ...

The menace of child labor continues unabated in pockets of India despite child labor being declared as an illegal activity. The most gruesome way to torture a child is to employ his/her services and expect the child to perform the task impeccably. Many children who were employed to act in Indian movies by their pushy parents have voiced their frustrations on being forced to act without a break. When these children became adults, their deprived childhood became a source of frustration for them haunting them forever. Some of them were able to pick up the broken pieces and reconcile with the truth about their shattered dreams. Most others were not so lucky. In a low-cost housing accommodation opposite to the apartment complex where I live, I witness child labor of a different kind. The husband, wife and eldest son (a cute and adorable moppet all of three years) live with the wife's mother. The husband generally wakes up at 10 am, brushes his teeth leisurely and plays loud music in the...