Foundation for Critical Choices for India
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
25 Years of Dedication
FCCI Silver Jubilee Celebration
14th April 2006
India Vision 2020
and
Role of NRIs / PIOs
Work shop on
Science and Technology
Anchor – Ravi Jambagi
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Session Program
1.
2.
3.
4.
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6.
7.
V2020 and S&T
Historical perspective
S&T in India– Current scenario
and achievements
Issues and challenges
A proposition
The NRI/PIO on the roadmap
Conclusion
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
V-2020 and S&T
S&T identified a main vehicle for
developed status
Several general and specific
technologies, action plans identified
Thrust areas and key strengths
elucidated
What we do now
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Critique some of the issues
Propose some ideas and strategies
Analyze and debate
Look at alternate points of views
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Historical perspective
Arya bhata to IT
India has strong science and math
tradition
Traditional and modern education
systems encourage scientific temper
Indian scientists and engineers are
academically very successful, quantity
and quality
Average Indian family spends much of
its resources on children’s education
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Current S&T Scene
Maturing IT industry climbing the ladder of
new technology
Bio and chemical sectors thriving; medical
tourism, KPO businesses taking off
Internationalization of Indian business is
firmly afoot
Multitude of Govt. departments, institutes,
universities engaged in a mind boggling
variety of projects
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Some recent national and
international initiatives
Computer based fundamental literacy
project
100000 Digital kiosks by 2007
Participation in CERN and Galileo projects
S&T agreement with US and UK and other
countries
Knowledge Park, Genome Valley
The STIO initiative
National S&T Policy
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Deals with everything – Policy, Strategy and
Implementation
The STIO initiative
Scientists and technologies of Indian Origin
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JV companies with Technology sourced from STIOs
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Web based registration
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Green corridors for JVs in high tech areas
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Visiting of distinguished STIOs
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Contact program with Peers
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Indian STs in foreign labs, visits, assignments
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Connecting technical societies
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
A snap shot of random statistics
US, EU and Japanese companies account for 96.7%
of global spend on R&D, growing at 6-7%, India and
China R&D spend growing at 21%.
India’s pharma co’s have increased R&D budgets
by 400% in lat 4 years
US patents filed by US residents (2005) –225000,
India’s count 1300.
More than 100 global companies have established
R&D centers in India
342 universities (18 central,211 State,95 deemed,13
Institutes of National Importance, 5 others); 17625
colleges and 10.5 million students,460 000 teachers
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Issues and Challenges
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Contrasts in current scenario
India leads AIDS drugs supply but millions are
at risk due to hygiene related diseases
India is has immense solar , bio, hydroelectric,
wind resources but imports …60 % energy
sources and key energy technologies
India’s fertilizer industry is one of the oldest and
largest but continues to import key technologies
Medical tourism galore but most sophisticated
medical equipment are not made in India
Several ministries have returned hundreds of
crores as unspent money from budget
allocations.
Converting science into practical technology
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
S&T – Our contention
Delivery of science and technology to
common man
Indian outside India is a different animal.
Lacunae in focus, organization,
infrastructure, reward system, motivation
The gap in the middle
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Funds, human capital, knowledge
resources
Govt, institutes, Universities
Common man
Technologies , products
and services
Benefits , goods, services,
security
Business, craftsmen, NGOs,
other local infrastructure
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
So what are the challenges?
Dr. Kalam
“ …In a world where the powers are determined by their
share of knowledge…it is important for India to put her
acts together to become a continuous innovator and
creator of S&T products …”
Dr.Manmohan Singh
“ …science must grapple with key challenges ..increasing
population, greater health risks, degraded natural
resources and dwindling farmlands… we need new
science and technology, new paradigms to address
fundamental challenges
Mr.Kapil Sibal
“ …India is in a position to engage in the global knowledge
economy rather than remaining on the margins “
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
A proposition
The paradigm shift
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
India needs to move from being an “engager” to being
a leader
Common man is the major stakeholder in all S&T policy
– from nuclear policy to GM seeds
Expecting quality and efficiency is not privilege , it is a
right of everyone
Individual excellence can go only so far, teams achieve
much more.
The vision of 2020 is only a mile stone in the larger
context
S&T – Our proposition
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Short term
Leverage available S&T resources efficiently for
common benefits, economic growth
Medium and long term
Creating and maintaining leadership position is
necessary
We need a burning desire to excel, a hunger for
leadership and a killer instinct
We need enabling mechanisms, to extract more out of
team work
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Short and medium term strategies
Focus-dissemination and delivery
Acquire necessary S&T in most efficient manner.
Indigenous or otherwise.
Make better use of the “leapfrog” technologies.
International quality benchmarks and best
practicesin local market
Project vs. program based approach
Introduce technology entrepreneurship at school
level; replace BSC, BA and BCOM with vocation
related courses
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Long term strategies
Focus-global leadership
More emphasis to manufacturing, utilities and
agriculture
Separate R&D, technology and delivery processes
Decentralize S&T infrastructure,
Put industrial R&D, in private hands,
Develop public+private strategies for managing major
risks (internal strife, natural calamity, strategic
handicaps)
Make sustainability a mandatory criteria
International agreements for sharing leadership
benefits.
Validate every major international agreement for
technology implications (e.g. WTO, Kyoto protocol,
FTAs)
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Enabling Infrastructure
Widespread digital connectivity, free access to S&T
data banks
Incubators for technology absorption at local level (a
la micro-finance)
Private benchmarking and quality assurance
structures for products and services
Legal mechanisms to mobilize NGOs as watchdogs
of sustainability
Motivators for group excellence –
Science based, “instruction based” as opposed to
“learning based” education at middle level
A strong IPR regime, transparent at all levels
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Are there models we can learn from?
Japan- car industry in last 3 decades
Korea- engineering; computer hardware
Israel- water and agricultural technology
Europe- IRC network for harnessing and networking
industrial technology development
There are no models that India can readily borrow,
because the economic development in the context of
its diversity and democratic set-up is unique. It has
to learn and develop its own model . This means
creative and multidisciplinary collaboration at
conceptual level.
Effective public-pvt, pvt-pvt, public-public collaboration
is major success factor.
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
The NRI/PIO on the roadmap
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
What NRI / PIOs can do
Lead…bilateral and multilateral projects
Collaborate… with Indian teams and institutions,
NGOs, pvt and public sectors
Invest / cause investment … in India, in resident
countries
Influence… policy and implementation in India and
resident countries
Provide international perspective… in project
execution, business practices
Promote Brand India… in India’s international forays
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Proactive steps by NRI/ PIOs
Be updated and realistic on India – facts, realities and
trends;
Focus on SMEs and local industries/institions
Provide global models for innovation promotion,
technology dissemination mechanism, Govt+Industry
collaborations
Provide inputs for international benchmarks
Comparative studies with leading S&T countries – do we
need McKinsey?
GOVT institutions in India may not be able to attract
best in the class talent…no different from other
countries ..NRIS can help here.
There can be strategic conflicts in collaborating with
international bodies. PIOs can act as surrogates
Set-up/facilitate special purpose VC’s for S&T projects
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Enabling mechanisms for increased
contribution of PIOs
S&T integral part of interaction with PIOs
Investment away from secondary markets and real
estate to longer term technology driven projects
Preferential terms for technology import from PIOs
and PIO promoted tech projects e.g. raising
investment ceilings for tech SSIs
PIO participation on boards of universities and
scientific institutions in FICCI , WTO, directorships of
state institutions
Incentives for reverse brain drain PIO quota in leading
institutes. aimed at 3rd generation PIOs
Another word about STIO initiative
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Scientists and Technologies of Indian Origin
Features
Web based registration
JV companies with Technology sourced from STIOs
Green corridors for JVs in high tech areas
Visiting of distinguished STIOs
Contact program with Peers
Indian STs in foreign labs, visits, assignments
Connecting technical societies
 The focus is still on high level R&D
 Paradigm shift is not to be seen.
 Needs to be managed by a private or JV body
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
India and International Science
The Elihu Yale story
Elihu Yale born in Boston of Welsh parents
Went to England and then India as a “humble writer” for East India
company
Lived in Madras between 1687 and 1692. Acting governor of Fort
St.George
In 1718 donated a carton of goods to Collegiate School of
Connecticut – 417 books, set of royal arms, a portrait, bales of
cotton and silk
It sales raised 562 pounds and was first donation to the school
Yale today is one of the most valued Universities. Yale’s Alumni
association is more than 200 years old and has many illustrious
names
POINT –
India has resources to create global
institutions of leadership
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
The power of technology
The CBFL story
Privately initiated program with many partnerships
with government and NGOs
Functional literacy for USD 2 in 8 weeks.
Nearly 350 million in India have reading difficulties
Pilot in Guntur initiated
90% India can be functionally literate in 3-5 years
860 million illiterates in world can benefit
PointTeamwork is possible,
feasible and profitable
A vision and a dream
India 2020-2050
25 Years of Dedication
Foundation for Critical Choices for India
Focus - Global leadership
through knowledge revolution
India 2010-2020
Focus – Delivery to all
India 2006-2010
Focus – Growth and
build