November 29, 2001

PLANNING COMMISSION FOR EXPANSION OF GRASSROOT INNOVATIONS

        Taking into consideration the success of the National Innovation Foundation’s (NIFs) Grassroot Innovators Scheme, the Planning Commission has decided to keep track of the experiment so that it could be replicated widely in the coming years. The Commission has envisaged an ambitious growth target in the 10^th Plan and small initiatives like the NIF will make a bigger difference in solving long pending problems of the society through its own initiative and innovations. This was stated by the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Shri K.C. Pant while giving away the first National Innovation Foundation (NIF) Awards for Grassroot Innovators at a function organised by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, here today. In all, Twenty-eight national and state level prizes were given in the fields of plant varieties, farm and allied machineries, herbal drugs, artisanal, food processing, energy conservation, etc. In addition, 60 consolation prizes were also given. The Foundation had received 998 entries from 24 states and union territories with about 1600 grassroot innovations.

        Commending the NIF for its performance, Shri Pant said that the Grassroot Innovation Augmentation Network (GIAN) of the Foundation must be strengthened in all respects including financial support. The NIF is setting up 4 more GIANs in different parts of the country to act as incubators for converting innovations into enterprises by adding value. It will also help the grassroot innovators in filing their patents not only in India but also abroad. Shri Pant said that we need several hundred incubators all over the country to speed up the pace of technological and consequent socio-economic change. Only a few incubators will not do for such a vast country. He pointed out that the newly enacted Plant Variety and Farmers’ Right Act would go a long way in protecting the rights of the farmer breeders. Herbal drugs is another category in which awards were given will also help improve the efficiency of the health-care system for the masses. He expressed happiness that a large number of grassroot innovations have emerged, where irrigation pumps driven by human, bullock, diesel or electricity have been improved and made more efficient with a multi-fuel option.

        In his vision statement, the DG CSIR and Chairman of the NIF Dr. R.A. Mashelkar said that the foundation has demonstrated what can be accomplished through a society-wide mobilisation strategy. The support of honey-bee-network built over last 12 years has provided NIF an ability to jump start the process of building a National Register of grassroot innovations and outstanding traditional knowledge. The Register will help reduce transaction cost of potential researchers, students, entrepreneurs, investors not only in India but also abroad.

        He said that entrepreneurs from Egypt, UK and Malaysia have approached the NIF and Honey-bee-network to license grassroot technologies with appropriate sharing of benefits. Voluntary help from intellectual property rights lawyers within India and abroad has helped in filing patents on behalf of some, today’s awardees. Students from IIT and even MIT, Boston have started working with grassroot innovators to develop better design technology and business planning etc. The process of value chain augmentation, triggered by the NIF will require much greater help from a large number of science and technology institutions in the country, he said. Such innovations will not only help in improving efficiency, reducing drudgery but also widening the livelihood options of the people besides energy conservation and reduction in energy costs, he added. The foundation was set up with a corpus of Rs. 100 crore, a year and a half before, to encourage grassroot innovations and traditional knowledge.