Saraswati to Lakshmi

Among the many deities worshipped in India, Saraswati and Lakshmi,
representing knowledge and wealth, respectively, are very prominent. Indian
mythology is full of stories about the lack of co-existence of these two
goddesses. The dichotomy between knowledge and wealth became so well ingrained
in India that knowledge and wealth became the preserves of distinct society
strata with pursuit of knowledge accorded a higher plane than pursuit of wealth.

Today India is recognized as the services hub of the world and is commonly
referred to as the 'back-office of the world'. To achieve global economic
leadership, India has to transform from a services economy to an innovation
economy and become the 'front-office of the world'.

What is innovation? The word sparks images of people in white coats, in
cluttered laboratories, periodically shouting Eureka! However, while scientific
discovery is the starting point, true innovation requires the conversion of a
new idea or scientific discovery into something tangible, which has a measurable
impact and provides value to the various stakeholders. 

A tradition of scientific excellence and a thriving scientific community does
not guarantee an innovation economy. Economic leadership in the 21st century
will be achieved by nations who possess the ability to convert internal or
external scientific discoveries into commercial solutions in an economically
efficient manner.

This is not a new concept. The 19th century industrial revolution was lead by
nations, which had mastered the manufacturing processes required to convert
globally-sourced raw material into finished goods. The finished goods were than
sold in the countries where the raw materials were originally sourced from, say
India.

The raw material of yesteryears is the knowledge capital of today.
As India becomes the preferred destination of R&D outsourcing, we
must also reflect upon the fact that the output of this outsourced R&D gets
converted into commercial products and solutions somewhere else in the world, to
be subsequently sold in India.  Most
of the patents generated by the MNC R&D facilities in India are registered
outside India creating a brain-drain without the physical displacement of
humans.

Let's look at why an ability to commercialize research is vital for
India's future:

• Technology enabled solutions are important to solve many of India'
  social development issues in education, healthcare, poverty reduction etc.
  Using domestic R&D will create technology solutions aligned to Indian
  requirements at a fraction of the cost of imported technology. 
• Dependence on external technology is dangerous for national security and
  leaves the country hostage to other countries' demands. This has been
  amply demonstrated through recent experiences with the developed economies
  on atomic energy, LCA engine and other hi-technology transfers.  
• A services economy on cost arbitrage is always under threat from emerging
  low-cost providers. An ability to create and commercialize technology
  creates a sustainable competitive advantage for India.

There is no doubt that India possesses a world-class scientific community and
research facilities. Apart from private sector R&D, there are over 200
dedicated government laboratories in India representing almost all areas of
science including emerging areas of biotechnology, nanotechnology, space etc.
However, except select verticals like pharmaceuticals and institutions like ISRO,
there are not many success stories about the commercialization of domestic
R&D.

While the reasons could be many, ranging from history to bureaucracy, listed
below are some possible suggestions for research commercialization in India: 

• Increase collaboration between industry and scientific community. Firstly,
  this will provide a commercial direction to research and secondly, encourage
  industry to use technology created according to their needs instead of
  force-fitting imported technology.
• Encourage commercial licensing of government IP assets by entrepreneurs.
  This will not only increase the probability of commercial success of
  research assets in comparison to scientists trying to launch businesses but
  also generate new revenue sources for research institutes. 
• Mandate government research institutes to generate part of their funding
  requirements through external sources. With most government institutes
  operating on a cost-centre model and getting 100% funding from the
  government, there is no incentive for them to develop alternative sources of
  funding.
• Allow industry to participate in restricted government sectors including
  space, defense, atomic energy etc. This will encourage the commercial use of
  IP assets created by government institutes working in these fields, in many
  more diverse application areas eg, an angioplasty stent using anti-corrosion
  submarine technology has been created by a defense research laboratory at a
  fraction of the cost of imported stents.
  Public-private sector partnership in Israel has resulted in a large
  number of commercially successful innovations using technologies originally
  created for defense. 
• Give incentives for deployment of solutions created using domestic
  technology. Most large-scale technology consumers of India including Indian
  defense, tend to procure technology from outside India through technology
  transfers. Apart from discouraging domestic R&D, these technology
  transfers are expensive and have very restrictive contractual conditions.
  This is not to say that we adopt a xenophobic mindset to technology
  but a more balanced evaluation of domestic versus imported technology is
  definitely required.
• Strengthen patent laws, simplify patenting procedures including reducing
  cost of patenting and increase conviction rates for patent infringement.
  Patents are the most critical measure of the health of scientific research
  and innovation. However, patenting also safeguards the creators' efforts
  from piracy.

The above cannot be achieved overnight. It will require sustained efforts by
all stakeholders to create an innovation value chain where the outputs of each
stage of the value chain get transformed by the succeeding stages to ultimately
result in true innovation.

Centuries ago, the great Indian strategist Chanakya said 'arth karicheya
vidya (create wealth from knowledge)'. If India has to fulfill its destiny as
a twenty-first century economy leader and become a technologically self-reliant
nation, the Saraswati to Lakshmi continuum needs to happen—sooner than later.

Rajdeep Sahrawat

maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in

The author is vice-president at NASSCOM. The views expressed are his personal
opinion and do not necessarily reflect that of NASSCOM