Gokhale , Secretary , Department of Biotechnology , stated , “ The Indian bio-economy grew from $ 70.2 billion to $ 80.12 billion in 2021 and a total of 1,128 biotech startups were set up last year . India conducted a total of 506.7 million Covid-19 tests in 2021 , as
Ingredients for Innovation Curry
• Think differently for novel ideas
• Ability to take risks
• Open to discuss and share
• Incubation and translation
• Affordable and long-lasting solution
well as a total of 1.45 billion doses of its vaccines were administered .”
While the feel good factor and optimism is good , the big question is whether the innovation is translating into enough product outcomes ? Except for a few genuine cases , India has been known for its ‘ Jugaad Innovation ’ which means taking the easiest possible route for establishing a short term order until the next one is found . Few will argue that with a huge population and lesser resources , this is the best we can do . But that doesn ’ t stop one from asking why is real innovation not happening ? Well the reason necessarily is not that there are not enough ideas but possibly of enough translation .
“ Over the years , India has been backing R & D across scientific institutions and universities . This has augmented the efforts of the government by creating a scientific environment in our country that is conducive to development of innovative solutions for the requirement of industry and society at large ,” says Dr Sanjeev Khosla , Director , CSIR-IMTECH .
A large number of policies and programmes have been developed to encourage an innovation culture and absorb major emerging technologies . One impediment to the percolation of these technologies through the economy is the persistent shortage of well-trained scientists and engineers . Another impediment is the insufficient level of domestic investment in R & D . Research intensity is stagnant and patenting by domestic corporations , research institutes , universities and individuals remains low .
The lack of novel ideas could be the biggest threat to any industry ’ s long-term growth and existence . The eternal problem of inadequate links between public laboratories and manufacturers also demands policy attention , in order to improve technology spillovers and the commercialization of research output . Industry should be encouraged to mentor startups . One model could be the Companies Act ( 2013 ), which made it mandatory for firms to use 2 % of their net profits to fund non-profit organizations , as part of their corporate social responsibility . This approach could be adapted to encourage firms to invest in start-ups in their economic sector .
Way Forward
It is a positive sign that states are increasingly involving individuals
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BioVoiceNews | December 2022