India to boost private
investment in R&D

Incentives for Innovations

“To monetize innovation we are going to give incentives to the scientific community, “ said Kapil Sibal, Minister of Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, at the recently-held India Economic Forum Summit in New Delhi.
Addressing a session, Sibal stressed the need for investment from the outside and tax incentives in promoting innovation as India, “does not have huge public funds to promote innovation in our universities.”
In the forthcoming budget, the government will announce a public fund for innovative ideas, of which 30 percent will be for licensing or patent fees, 30 percent will go to funding the project, and the balance (40 percent) will be given to the institute where the research takes place, said Sibal. An existing scheme provides a grant of $100,000 to fund idea incubation and a loan of up to $2 million for commercialization of the idea.
The government cannot expect private industry to invest in innovation without investing in the university research system, said Sibal. India's real challenge is to build quality human resources and increase the number of innovators. India can build resources to meet the needs of the Indian sectors and collaborate with other countries to provide resources for their fast-moving sectors.
Hari Bhartia, Co-Chairman and Managing Director, Jubilant Organosys, India, who had noted that, “What lacks here is a system of grants. When you have an idea it needs funding at an early stage.”
India is among the oldest innovators in the world, with the numbering system, spinning wheel and the game of chess to its credit, said William G. Parrett, Global Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte, USA. “Today, India's challenge is to make innovation work for the masses and create sustainable businesses. Lessons from the pharma and IT sectors could be replicated in India's public sector,” he said.
India needs to revamp its entire higher education system, Bhartia said. Indian universities are facing serious problems - very few students are taking up research and the best faculty members are retiring. World-class innovation can only take place in an environment where academia and business collaborate. India should collaborate with, and learn from, international research companies. This would enable them to create their own intellectual property later, he added.
Bhartia said Industry can attract Indian researchers abroad to train young Indian minds to be innovative, by creating a world-class research environment in India.
Indian industry, and India itself, are at an inflection point and are transforming from being "imitators to [being] innovators," said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson and Managing Director, Biocon India, India. There is a need to create an ecosystem and an engine fueled by academic research. The gap between academia and industry must also be bridged. Developing an ethos of monetizing early-stage ideas is a must, she added. Innovation carries a high cost of failure, but India's advantage lies in the low cost of doing research, making failure affordable. India must leverage low-cost advantage to deliver high-value innovation.
Innovation is not a luxury for India, said Naresh Trehan, Executive Director, Escorts Heart Institute and Research Centre, India. India needs to think out of the box and stop going down the beaten path. There is a case for a new paradigm in healthcare to deliver traditional healthcare and medicines to the masses.



Transforming the Indian workforce (500 million strong) into a global resource requires a clear roadmap that takes into account the needs of various countries and sectors, said Trehan. Companies in India have the holding power and should invest in innovative ideas, even if they arrive ahead of their time.
Innovation is the keyword for every economy, whether it be in Asia, the EU, or the US, said Kiyoshi Kurokawa, Science Adviser to the Prime Minister and Professor, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Japan. Japan spends 3.0 percent of its GDP on research, of which two-thirds comes from the private sector. Opening up resources and collaborating with neighbours can create an advantage for the region. Japan has strengths in many areas, such as water management, and can work with other countries to find innovative solutions that will benefit a large number of people.
Sibal and Kurokawa agreed that there is scope for collaborating at the global, regional and bilateral levels to find innovative solutions to meet the needs of the common man. There are issues, such as global warming, climate change and disease, for which no country alone has the resources to find solutions. To resolve these problems, there is a need to collaborate at the global level and pool resources to innovate.