The article focuses on the new priorities India should espouse to emerge as a global innovation powerhouse.

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Your Inno-IP magazine January 2011
radically change our outlook and most importantly
be willing to revisit our priorities. Cost arbitrage
Innovation: Imperative for may have given us the resources to grow in the
short term but a success in the long term can be
Indian Industry guaranteed only if we build a sustainable
_________________________________________ competitive advantage and that, for sure, cannot be
-Deepu Chandran P K cost competitiveness. This, as history has proved
(The author is a Partner & Co-founder at Innomantra
again and again, can only come from innovative
Consulting and an alumnus of IIM Bangalore)
products, solutions, services and technologies. Yes,
The last decade has been exciting for the Indian innovation is going to be the key that can unlock
Service Industry with outsourcing at its peak. But India’s vast potential. For the demographic dividend
now, with President Obama wanting to save as that everyone talks about, to prove useful, we
many American jobs as possible, outsourcing is should focus on building an environment conducive
becoming a despicable word in the US. To add to to innovation and that’s precisely what India needs
India’s woes, new markets like Brazil, Argentina, to appreciate today.
Mexico and even China are emerging as possible
destinations that could provide software and other Indian firms have been adept in incremental
knowledge outsourcing solutions. Indian companies innovation and some have even displayed success
themselves have opened offices in these locations in radical game-changing innovations. Yet, many are
to leverage the emerging market advantage. China far from a stage where they can claim to have
has outperformed India and has become the imbibed a culture of systematic innovation. It stems
manufacturing hub for the world with the from a lack of understanding of ‘innovation’ as a
advantages posed by its governmental structure, domain and the advantages, a robust Intellectual
pegged currency and low cost labor. If this trend property portfolio can generate for the business. A
continues, it is not long before Indian leaders also study by Innomantra supports the fact that out of
start crying foul about outsourcing to safeguard the the Five major Information Technology (IT)
strides India has made on the back of the service companies in India only one could claim Intellectual
economy so dependent on cost arbitrage. The Property rights filing specifically to patent filings in
optimists can say that such a day may not come in Three digits. This just goes on to show the utmost
2011 and they might be right. But, the question is need to focus on an aspect that could generate the
when will we wake up to this reality and start next wave of growth for the Indian industry. If this
acting. is the state of billion dollar firms, one can only
lament at the state of affairs in the Small and
If India has to become the global power house that Medium sector. Intervention is a must that can not
the world expects it to be, we should be willing to only educate but also hand hold firms to transform
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2. them from a state of ‘jugaad’ to systematic than now! Let us herald 2011 as the start of a new
innovation. decade of innovation for the Indian Industry.
Building a collaborative environment in an
organization that encourages information/idea _______________________________________
flows triggering innovation is the need of the hour. Author:
This would ensure that employees have the
opportunity to discuss and develop ideas that Deepu Chandran P K (Deepu), Partner & Co-founder at Innomantra
Consulting is an MBA (PGDM) from Indian Institute of Management,
finally proves beneficial. Top Management in the Bangalore (IIMB) and a Bachelor of Technology in Electronics and
Organizations needs to be driving this through Communication engineering from National Institute of Technology,
Calicut. Previously, he has worked with Indian multinationals such as
commitment and support for experimentation and Larsen & Toubro Limited and the Adani Group.
risk taking. Organizations should also focus on
utilizing innovation intermediaries to benefit from He has also worked on challenging assignments with consulting majors
like PRTM, Arthur D. Little, and Accenture. He has handled various
the wisdom of the crowd. projects and devised strategies for diversification, new product
development and supply chain efficiency working alongside C-level
executives of companies he was associated with. He was on the
Universities and other research establishments committee formed by IEEMA (Indian Electrical and Electronics’
Manufacturers Association) to develop a standard for automatic meter
need to be strengthened through industry reading.
participation for the future success. It is a known
fact that, mediocre Indian students who pursue Deepu is a CII-India Innovation Challenge Award winner has done
several interesting things in life - from founding a student political
higher studies in the US publish articles in reputed organization during his under-graduation to developing a model for
women's empowerment and education to leading the promulgation of a
journals, when even the brightest ones fail to do so Code of Honor for IIM Bangalore and much more. He was the President
studying in India. Indian universities whether it is of the Student Affairs Council, the apex student body, at IIM Bangalore
and has held significant leadership positions throughout his career. He
the IITs or NITs do not seem to nurture the culture is passionate about building the innovation capabilities of Indian
of excellence and research, up to the mark. They companies and devotes his time to nurturing a culture of innovation in
firms.
have limited themselves to being placement
agencies that churn out students who focus on ©2011 – Innomantra Consulting
grades while on campus and on salaries while
graduating. These students, when in US, radically
transform themselves into innovation powerhouses
and come up with publications, path breaking
research and ideas. Where are we missing out! The
blame cannot be fully attributed to the institutions.
It is as much the fault of industry as it is of these
institutions. World has moved ahead and has
started involving every stakeholder in the process
of innovation and yet, here, we still have a long way
to go in utilizing our universities and their expertise
for the purpose.
India needs to focus on developing an ecosystem
conducive to innovation that fosters collaboration
and experimentation. Indian companies are poised
to reap the benefits of such an initiative and
everyone understands it for sure. May be we just
need a “New Year resolution” and what better time
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