India’s Technology Journey

Science, technology and innovation have had a

great impact on economic growth and social
development in India.
The Government moved from scientific policy
resolution (1958) to the technology policy
statement (1983) to the science and technology
policy (2003) and finally to the science,
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technology and innovation policy (2013). These

are illustrative of the commitment to science
and technology by successive governments, as
also the welcome emphasis on the importance
of science led technology led innovation over a
period of time.

We can look at our 40 year journey, the pre-

liberalised as well as the post-liberalised India.

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First, India experimented with socialism for

more than four decades, which kept out foreign
capital and technologies, but spurred local
innovation based on indigenous technology.

Second, the Indian economy didn’t start

growing until the 1990s, so local companies
were small. Indian entrepreneurs, therefore,
developed a penchant for undertaking small
projects with indigenous (import substituted)
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technologies but with huge capital efficiency.

Third, local companies knew that while India

has both rich and poor people, catering only to
the rich limited their market. They were forced
to create products that straddled the whole
economic pyramid, from top to bottom. Thus
affordable inclusive innovation was firmly
integrated in to the strategy.

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And fourth, the most important driver

happened to be India’s innovation mind-set.
Some Indian leaders had the audacity to
question the conventional wisdom. The mix of
miniscule research budgets, small size, low
prices, but big ambitions translated into an
explosive combination of extreme scarcity and
great aspiration, which ignited the Indian
innovation.

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Indian technology grew in a denial driven mode

in the pre-liberalised India. Foreign
technologies were denied because of lack of
resource as well as a closed economy in the pre-
libralised era. They were also denied due to
security and strategic reasons. It was through
the path of ‘technonationalism’ that India
developed self-reliance through its own
technologies in both civilian sectors as well as
strategic sectors such as space, defence, nuclear
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energy, and supercomputers. Let me illustrate.

Take defense. India developed diverse missiles

and rocket systems, remotely piloted vehicles,
light combat aircraft, etc. Brahmos is a great
example of Indian prowess in a strategic
technollgy. None of these technologies were
available to India for love or for money.

Take nuclear energy. The entire range of

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technologies, from the prospecting of raw

materials to the design and construction of large
nuclear reactors was developed on a self-reliant
basis. India’s nuclear fast-breeder reactors
emerged from its thrust towards techno-
nationalism.

Look at space technology from indigenous

development to satellites to launch vehicles,
from SLV to ASLV to PSLV to GSLV. India’s
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first moon orbiter project Chandrayan-1, Mars

Orbiter Mission or even the recent simultaneous
launch of 20 satellites are brilliant examples.
No wonder, India is now ranked amongst
handful of nations of the world that have a
credible capability in space technology.

Strength respects strength. It is the growing

technological strength of a nation that increases

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its access to technology that has been denied to

it. The technology denial regime itself
underwent a change as technonationalism gave
India a strong technological foundation.

For instance, India’s supercomputer journey

began, when access to CRAY super computer
was denied to India in mid-eighties. In 1998, C-
DAC launched PARAM 10,000, which
demonstrated India’s capacity to build 100-
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gigaflop machines. In response, the US relaxed

its export controls. During the same year,
CRAY, which had denied the licensing of
technology, itself established a subsidiary in
India.

In 2008, India signed a key civil nuclear deal

with the US, which gave it access to some
nuclear materials and technology. Recently,
India become a member of Missile Technology
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Control Regime (MTCR), getting access to

crucial missile technologies. More will follow.

But what about Indian industry and its

technological prowess? Indian industry has
done well in some sectors. India’s dominance in
generic drugs is one example. The auto industry
is another one.

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Indian industry is a world leader in what

everyone refers to as `frugal innovation’. I
prefer the term `affordable excellence’. For
instance, let’s ask the following questions.

• Can we make a high quality Hepatitis-B

vaccine priced at US$20 per dose available at a
price that is 40 times less, not just 40%?
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• Can we make a high quality artificial foot

priced at US$10,000 available at a price that is
300 times less, not even 300%?

• Can we make an ECG machine available,

not at US$10,000 but a price that is 20 times
lower, not just 20%?

Incredible as it may sound, all such impossible

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looking feats have been achieved by Indian

technology innovators. And this has captured
the imagination of the world to an extent that a
new term `Indovation’ is beginning to do
rounds now! Books are being written on frugal
innovation – the rest of the world wanting to
learn from Indian industry!

But with this good progress, there are other

areas, where we can do far better.
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The share of the R&D investments by the

private sector in the overall R&D spend remains
low with majority of investment, close to 70-
75%, coming from the government. These
proportions are nearly reverse, not only in
advanced countries, but also in countries such
as Korea, China, etc.

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India lacks a robust national innovation eco

system. Essential elements of a powerful
ecosystem comprise physical, intellectual and
cultural constructs. Beyond mere research labs
it includes idea incubators, technology parks, a
conducive intellectual property rights regime,
enlightened regulatory systems, academics who
believe in not just ‘publish or perish’, but
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‘patent, publish and prosper’, potent inventor-

investor engagement, adventure capital, and
passionate innovation leaders. An earnest effort
on building a robust innovation ecosystem with
all these building blocks has already started.

India’s rank among 142 nations, as measured by

the Global Innovation Index has moved from

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62(2011) to 64 (2012) to 68 (2013) to 73 (2014)

to 81 (2015).
This is worrisome.

How do we reverse this trend?

For this, going forward,

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Dr Manmohan Singh proposes a five point

agenda.

• First, move from the penchant of doing `first

to India’ to `first to the world’. In other
words, for instance, in the case of drug
development, move from `copying
molecules’ to `creating new molecules’. This
type of original and breakthrough research in
every field will also lead to India moving up
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the IPR ladder, in which it is placed rather

low. This will also mean that `make in India’
will move to `make in India based on Indian
technology led innovation’. This means
`make in India’ not just on the strength of our
brawn but on the strength of our brain.
• Second, make India a leading `start-up’
nation, by implementing in practice
Government’s declared (bold & welcome)

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intentions and policies on its ambitious `start-

up India’ program.

• Third, move our innovations from Jugaad

(less for less) to affordable excellence (more
from less), affordability will bring inclusion
of our poorest of the poor sections of the

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society and excellence will bring global

competiveness.

• Fourth, change the ratios of the Government

to industry R&D spending from the current
80:20 to 20:80. Provide all incentives to our
industry to achieve that.

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• Fifth, bring bold government policy

innovation to back technology innovation.
We missed the opportunity of making 200
million illiterate Indians literate in 5 years by
using F.C. Kohli’s breakthrough on
Computer Based Functional Literacy. Why?
No Government policy support to back this
disruptive and game changing technology.
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• But during (2014-15) we did world’s fastest

financial inclusion in less than one year by
using JAM. Jan Dhan Yojna (J) was all bold
policy and Aadhar (A) and Mobiles (M) was
all Technology.
• India needs more such disruptive
combinations of technological, business
model, system delivery, workflow and policy
innovations..

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If this five point agenda is followed, it is

predicted that when Business India’s next
1000th issue is published 38 years from now,
India will be amongst the top 10 in the
Global Innovation Index.

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