Innovation in India: The Past, Present and Future

(An Introspective)
Best brains in the world are busy in solving the problems of the rich, who do not have any problems to begin
with.
By Mr. Sam Pitroda

Our popular perception of Innovation is that it has to do with developing brand new and advanced
solutions for sophisticated customers, through exploitation of most recent advances in knowledge. In
broader sense Innovation may be explained as the attempt to try out new or improved products,
processes or way to do things It broadly includes technologically developed new products,
processes and improvements in the areas such as logistics, distribution, packaging and marketing.
Most accepted definition of innovation is the conversion of information into valuable knowledge and
ideas and subsequently into a significant benefit that may take the form of new or improved product,
processes, or services. It is means to realize the potential of an invention by commercializing it so that the
customer is willing to pay for it (Global Innovation Index 2011).
At the beginning of XX1st century, the importance of innovation brought into light mainly due to
existence of huge differences between living standards of the richest and the poorest nations. This
difference could be explained through the fact that most of the advanced countries pay great attention
towards innovation. There is also a realization that to sustain rapid growth and elevate poverty, India
needs to aggressively harness its Innovative potential relying on Innovation-led rapid and inclusive
growth to achieve economic and social transformation. The urgent need for development in the large
parts of the world indicates the importance of increased innovative activities because Innovation is
indicated as the engine of growth and development.
If we look into the global history of innovation it is evident from the Figure-I that the global
innovations have started their journey in around 1600 AD with the introduction of modern science.
Figure-I

Source: RedSeer Analysis Whitepaper: A History of Innovation in India (2010)

The world has acknowledged remarkable innovations leading to great inventions and these
innovations led inventions have made crucial contributions to the various segments of the society in
different ways.
On the other hand, India has lived innovation way back in around 1200 BC with the knowledge
of advanced astronomy followed by invention of plastic surgery and in many other fields. So, it can be
inferred that India as a nation inherits the legacy of innovation as can be seen in the Figure-II.
Figure-II

Source: RedSeer Analysis Whitepaper: A History of Innovation in India (2010)

Government of India is keen to provide an enabling policy and institutional framework to

promote innovation. After the declaration of the Decade of Innovation (2010-2020), the Government has
prioritized a doubling of investment in R&D over the next five years (2010 -2015). The Indian National
Innovation Council (NIC) was established in 2010 to discuss, analyze, and help implement strategies for
inclusive innovation in India and prepare a roadmap for innovation. The Science, Technology and
Innovation Policy 2013 is a big step in this direction and addressed most of the key challenges in
developing an effective innovation ecosystem.
In India there are more than 1200 privately and state funded scientific and industrial research
organizations to support innovation. Other than these there are 280 Government Universities, Institutions
of Higher Education such as IITs, NITs, IISc, and IIITs. There are also more than 2500 in-house R&D
centers created by corporations and NGOs, that use and apply the available knowledge for the benefit of
the society.
Thus, the functional goal of the innovation ecosystem is to enable technology development and
innovation. But it seems that, in spite of all the Governments efforts during the last decade, Indias
contribution in the field of innovation on the global front has come down drastically. According to the
Global Innovation Index reports of last few years Indias rank is sliding down as depicted in Figure III.

Figure III

Source: Global Innovation Index Past Reports

The Index from 2008-2014, reveals a downward trend of Indias position in Global Innovation
Index. India was holding 23rd rank among 107 nations globally in 2007-08, which drops down to 76 th rank
among 143 nations globally in 2014. This is to infer that in spite of the large national innovation
initiatives the current performance of Indian innovations appears weak.
This is an alarming bell for all of us to join hands and contribute toward making India a Nation
of Innovations. Since, the country is competitive enough and has the legacy of innovation from our
history; India can achieve its lost glory only by acute focus on Innovation. As India is a young nation,
where more than 30 pc of our population is youth, it demands from young brains to contribute in its
endeavor to become a Nation of Innovations

Writers:
Dr. Ashim Kr. Das
Assistant Professor and Head
Mr. Vivek Kr. Pathak
Assistant Professor
Department of Management Studies