Nice article, but I would like to add couple of more things. a) Socio-economic structure in that part of the world is complex. You graduate straight out of school and you start thinking about your parents (in most cases Dad is near retirement) and siblings (if you've sisters you've to get them married--i.e. bear all expenses). b) Most people who make it to the top don't give back to the society in terms of donation to schools. Most people don't take initiatives that will give young kids, straight out of school, an incentive to start a company. c) Sparse number of highly talented engineers available for mentorship. Most talented people will tell you to focus on your grades, as article noted. d) Government not providing any incentives to young lads to start businesses. Cost of running a business is usually pretty high. No policy making at that level. No subsidies. e) No academic or professional activities. There are no meetups and it's very rare that you hear about a conference. Not many places to meet up like-minded people (only exception is the school itself) f) Lack of libraries. Elite usually love to read Malcolm Gladwell to remain in the Groove. Rare are the people(that I'm aware of) who like to keep abreast of latest trends. Though situation is improving but you won't find many modern classics (engineering or otherwise) in biggest library of your town). Heavy taxes on imported books. A fellow Pakistani once told me he had to pay heavy taxes(one third of the price of the books) on 10 books that he ordered for his personal use.

This is what I've heard and I've also worked in that part of the world(i.e. Pakistan) but I'm not really sure about India.