Telecom guru Sam Pitroda on Wednesday said India should not try to copy the consumption-based economic model of the US, saying it won't work for this country.

"I personally believe the US-model of consumption-based economy is not scalable, sustainable for a country like ours...",Pitroda,who headed the National Knowledge Commission, said. India cannot afford to copy western development model.

Addressing participants of Microsoft-organised TechED 2010, a technology conclave, here, the technocrat said India has its own challenges, requires Indian model (of development) which focused on low-cost solutions.

Speaking via videoconferencing from Chicago in the US, Pitroda said India needs to create its own model of development; not the western way

"We need to learn to innovate on our own",he said, adding, India needs to look at new development models in areas such as education and health.

Pitroda, Advisor to Prime Minister on public information infrastructure and innovations, expressed the view that India's rural areas could become outsourcing hubs for urban centres of the country.

"If Bangalore can become back-office of America, why can't our rural areas become back-office of urban areas ?", asked the man, who laid the foundation for the country's telecom revolution nearly a quarter century ago.