Not Just ‘Make In India’ But Also ‘Invent In India’: Dr Mashelkar

As we move away from the pandemic, the larger lessons on the human spirit of resilience, the tenacity of home-grown start-ups and the scientific developments made over the year, stand out. While the pandemic may not have inspired new practices and processes it pushed the pedal on accelerating digitisation and setting off technology, system and process innovations that might have otherwise taken a decade to develop. The response of industries, start-ups and the courage of individuals signal the resilience in the fabric of the nation and how it will forge the cause of nation building. 

Speaking at the third episode of BW’s Nation Builders series, Indian scientific polymath Dr R A Mashelkar optimistically talked of the potential for invention in the country, the framework for fostering an innovation ecosystem and the trust that must be placed in the youth of the country. “The ‘I’ in India must not stand for imitation or inhibition but innovation. The ‘I’ in industry and individual must also stand for innovation,” he poignantly explained. 

A Year For Science 

Dr Mashelkar illustrated how the pandemic year despite its many difficulties, has been a year for science with vaccine development reduced from 7-10 years to just 12 months. He notes that technology too, particularly Edtech, e-commerce and telemedicine have evolved in what has now transformed into a ‘phygital’ world. He remarked, “The new world would be one where we would ask this question, ‘Can we do this remotely?’ before doing anything at all.” 

He draws his credibility in the field of science from his wide and varying achievements. He served as the Director of National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) for six years before he went on to be the Director General of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), for eleven years. He was also the President of the Indian National Science Academy briefly from 2004-2006, the President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers in 2007 and also the President of Global Research Alliance from 2007 till 2018. His illustrious career is also marked by some of the highest civilian honours in India and international acclaims like being the first Chairperson of the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, a Fellow of the Royal Society and a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in the US among many recognitions. 

India’s Innovation Ecosystem  

Dr Mashelkar, who has two start-ups to his credit, was the chairman of Ambani’s Reliance Innovation Council. He also made his presence felt on the boards of many leading Indian companies such as Reliance Industries Ltd, Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever, Thermax, Piramal Group and KPIT Technologies, among others. 

He believes that there lies a tremendous potential for India to grow on the innovation curve. “We must not just ‘Make in India’ but also ‘Invent in India’,” he elucidated. As a country benefitting from the innovation up-curve, in not just technology but also workflow, operations, policy, business model and system innovations, India’s place in the Global Innovation Index is improving. He notes that the Jan Dan Yojana, the Aadhaar and the mobile penetration combined, has facilitated the country to lead one of the fasted financial inclusion drives any country has ever seen. And companies like Jio too, have recorded the fastest onboarding trend by not just aiming for a part of the pie with competitors but by rather expanding the market itself, he offers. 

Mantras For Nation Building Success

Stating his cherished beliefs for elevating Indian start-ups onto a global level, he adds that as a country, we must back talent, technology and place trust in the youth to succeed. Public procurement of technology, a culture that encourages the creation of more IPs and placing faith in the adventurous and optimistic spirit of start-ups are some of the mantras imparted by Dr Mashelkar. 

Enumerating his ideas of ‘Gandhian Engineering,’ and the concept of ‘more from less for more’ he says the need to use lesser resources to derive more value and making science accessible to all remains relevant in today’s times. Borrowing from his book, ‘Leapfrogging to pole-vaulting,’ he adds that corporate aspirations must rise above competitiveness towards ‘doing good' for the country. 

Summarising his learnings, he marks how individuals must breed high aspirations, put in hard work, practice compassion, positivity and maintain a steadfast focus that brings different people, groups and communities together for one cause- the cause for sustained and continuous nation building.