'Need Indian solutions for Indian problems'

BANGALORE:Can India become the fountainhead of global innovation? Was a question that was hotly debated at the recently held the India Innovation Summit 2007 in Bangalore. Held under the aegis of Confederation of Indian Industry, the summit saw participation by different sections of people from various industry verticals and thought leaders.

Various sessions touched on different aspects of innovation and how it can be used in different spheres of business. In one of the sessions, C Mohan, chief scientist, IBM India, touched upon the social side of innovation. He spoke of how IBM was working with various partners to spread the benefits of innovation to rural areas in India. He also talked about how IBM has always been working on innovative products at its research labs. “We had developed a search product at IBM Research, which was much similar to what Google was. The only thing was that we did not take it public and today Google is the undisputed leader,” he said.

R Raju Konduru, program leader (Innovation & Knowledge), Procter & Gamble, touched upon how innovations can also help networks and partnerships. “The three keys to network success is; one needs to believe that it is possible, the network should meet the requirements, and it should be sustainable,” he stated.

Representatives from various companies like, Infosys, Wipro, Motorola,Satyam, and others participated in the event. Large number of small and medium business entrepreneurs were also a part of the event, networking and sharing notes with the various company representatives.

There were in-depth discussions on issues like; commercializing innovation, innovation tools, system and structures, and others. Network and partnerships were also the top points of discussion at the event.

The summit concluded with a talk show that started on a skeptical note “Can India become the fountainhead of global innovation?” All the panelists agreed that while India had the potential to be a global innovation leader, more needs to be done. Lt Gen (Retd.) SS Mehta, director general, Confederation of Indian Industries, hosted the session. “To put India in a prominent position, companies need to address Indian problems with Indian solutions,” he concluded.

(c) CyberMedia News