Professor of Information Systems and Director of the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at SMU, Arcot Desai Narasimhalu said that innovation takes on many forms in Asia. He added that "If you take India, its innovation focus is on the rural sector. It is a very different approach from China, which creates products for a global market." Asia's rising success as a centre of innovation has been a product of necessity rather than design, he said. "Singapore knew it could not survive purely as a manufacturing centre. It had to innovate and move to the next level and become a knowledge-based economy. This was a conscious government decision which had the support of business and indeed the workers." South Korea "rose from the ashes of war" to become one of the world's major trading nations, Prof Narasimhalu added. "Again, successive South Korean governments placed the emphasis on education and supporting home-grown industries and encouraging innovation."