| Innovation is a religion or a cult by itself. It has no geographic barriers, ethnic background or fiefdoms to protect. It originates in the mind and when converted into reality can change the way people lead their lives regardless of where they live. Thomas Alva Edison invented the light bulb in the USA but the fruits of his ideas are enjoyed by the whole world even today. Similar is the case with the thoughts that originated in the minds of Sir Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein or Galileo Galilee.
However, it is interesting to note that most of the contributions that benefit the entire mankind have originated largely in the western world or the developed nations. This leads to the question as to what is the contribution of the developing nations towards mankind in the R&D field. Ancient India had made significant advances in various fields such as mathematics, astronomy, metallurgy, civil engineering, medicine and surgery with limited resources and infrastructure. Unfortunately, this latent energy and inherent talent has not been exploited to its fullest potential. Currently, India boasts of a very large talent pool of knowledge workers but it is important for us to create the right platform that can convert a dream into reality.
Barriers for Success in the R&D field:
1. Capital intensive
2. Lack of infrastructure
3. Rising wages due to shortage of talent
4. IP protection and red tape
5. Lack of role models
6. Time to market
The above factors have created a state of inertia in the minds of people especially in the developing nations. As a result of this inertia, creativity begins and ends in the mind itself and hence the innovative strengths are not fully exploited.
Breaking the barrier:
These barriers can be broken by integrating all the entities that are part of the supply chain required to create a research friendly ecosystem. The various components of this ecosystem include:
1. Universities and research institutes
2. Incubations
3. Corporations – Small and medium sized businesses, large multinationals and their
associated suppliers
4. Venture Capital
5. Legal Cell
6. Corporate and residential townships with recreational and healthcare facilities
Such an ecosystem would facilitate the building of a knowledge capital that would consequently promote entrepreneurial spirit and foster innovation thus converting abstract ideas into world class products and services. As a sidelight, the above factors play a major role in the promotion of other tertiary businesses such as food and entertainment, transportation, day care, shopping malls etc.
|
