India The Innovator…….

Gathers Momentum

These last few years have seen Innovation in India reach a

tipping point. The emergence of Innovative Indian companies,
the large-scale social Innovations and now the big impact
innovations in public service.

The biggest paradigm shift gathering momentum is the

one from India the follower to India the Innovator. In
Corporate India, this was pioneered Companies like Nirma, it is
now growing into a movement with entrepreneurial firms like
CavinKare, Sukum Inventers & Subex and established groups
& organisations like TATAs and Reliance. This is showing up as
a growing confidence in Indian organisations, the confidence
that they can take on and ‘Out - innovate global competition’. It
has even lead to an association like INSSAN the Indian National
Suggestions Schemes Association to dare to think beyond the
Japanese TQM Model and initiate a Quantum Innovation Model
in place of incremental innovation - Challenging a Japanese
manufacturing model would have been unthinkable a few years
ago.

This shift is also increasingly evident in the backend

service providers. Especially in the Software services Sector,
where more and more companies are getting restless at being
‘merely low cost service providers’. As a Manager put it ‘we
service R&D clients, forget doing Research, we are now stuck to
delivering at the last end of the Development cycle, we want to
change this. We not only want to be in Research, but want to
lead it.’

This need to leapfrog is not limited to Indian companies

but very visible in Indian arms of MNC’s too. Bosch India
moved from maintaining the old Diesel Technology platform to
transforming it, to reach the new Euro Emission norms at much
lower costs. Honeywell, Bangalore Centre lead the drive to
move from being just a low software service provider to
becoming a Product Innovator. They lead the creation of a
Breakthrough security product that the Global organisation has
now launched in all its markets. The India Centre is now being
seen an emerging ‘Product Innovation Hub’.

‘Innovating to leapfrog the value chain’ is also increasingly

evident in the operational services divisions of International
Banks in India and Auto component suppliers.

The Innovation pinnacle is the emergence of ‘New to the

World’ Innovations; - Business Models, products and
technologies. A decade ago, an Indian firm would be happy with
the claim ‘New to India’ but now there are a number of firms
claiming breakthroughs that are ‘New to the World’. This
includes established organisations like Bharti , Reliance & Tata
Steel and emerging firms like Tutor Vista, Perfinct Healthcare –
PIGA-CT, Seclore Technology and Centre for Cellular and
Molecular Biology.

For Business Model Innovation, India is fast emerging as

the new Global Hub. Bharti’s Business Model Innovation that
has lead to it becoming the lowest cost producer of minutes
with the biggest market share in India is the new role model.

Tutor Vista is the latest Business Model Innovation, they

have pioneered an internet based Business Model and made
‘Personalized Tutoring’ globally economical and flexible.
Today, 3 years after inception, Tutor Vista has nearly 2000
teachers spread over 98 cities working from home, teaching
over 20,000 students, over the internet, in 48 different
countries. One school in the US has no maths teacher, 30
teachers from India go online everyday in the second period to
teach math. This is Business Model Innovation at its best. They
have channelized the unleveraged teaching talent in India-
educated women who have chosen to be home makers - and
make personal tutoring available at 15% of the normal
international tutoring price. One process breakthrough is that
‘in case of a connection failure the student needs to wait only
for a maximum 1 minute before another teacher takes over
seamlessly’.

Multinationals who had largely followed the traditional and

even imperialistic approach of ‘create an offering for the
Developed markets and then adopt it to the India Market are
also now beginning to change’. A number of them are now into
‘Create the new in India and take it to the world’. Philips was
an early starter, GE’s Mac 400 (WIPRO, GE) – a new product
has emerged from this new approach. Multinationals like
Unilever, Max New York Life are rapidly adopting this approach.

India, as a country is surrounded with challenges that

demand. Innovative non-linear solutions, challenges like
poverty, education, healthcare and environment. Here too the
Innovation is beginning to happen.

A visible change has come about in how Corporates

approach rural markets. Earlier the focus was merely
penetration ‘find ways to get into uncovered markets’. There is
now a visible shift to Inclusive Growth. From ‘get a share of
the rural wallet’ to ‘first increase the size of the wallet and the
take a share of it’. A number of groups & organisations like
Tata Chemicals, Rallis, Mahindra Farm Equipment & DCM are
experimenting with Innovative models for this true form of
inclusive Growth. Innovation for Inclusive Growth was
pioneered by ITC ABD; E-Chaupal has innovated further and
transformed from its first Version to Version 2 and is now going
into Version 3.
 There is an equally strong wave of Innovation for Inclusive
Growth that is focussing on environment conservation.
Companies like Tata Chemicals & Unilever are leading the way.

Social enterprises too beginning to leverage Innovation.

SKS Microfinance has successfully Innovated on the Grameen
Bank Microfinance Model. This Business Model Innovation has
figured out a unique way to ‘scale up’ the penetration and
impact of a Microfinance organisation. SKS has acquired a
membership of 5.7 million, across 16 States in 11 years.
Akshay Patra is the world’s largest NGO run school meal
program – it reaches 10 million children across 5 State of India,
six days a week. And they serve freshly cooked meals at
Rs.1.50 per meal. This was achieved through a ‘Technological
Innovation: to prepare meals on large scale in a short time’
and a ‘logistics innovation - to reach the meals to the schools’.
A number of other large scale Innovations like Goonj – creating
rural value from urban waste in a manner that is mutually
dignified and MV Foundation – a new way to take kids out of
child labour and into schools are bringing through Non-linear
solutions for the Country’s huge Developmental challenges.

What’s even more promising is that Government agencies

are also leveraging Innovation for Inclusive Growth. The
Defence Institute for High Altitude Research – DIHAR in Ladakh
has played an Innovative and transformational role in
accelerating the socio-economic development of Ladakh.
Many Innovative initiatives like solar energy based -low cost-
Green Houses, zero energy based storage have transformed
the vegetable and animal productivity and output, and even
raised the tree line above 13000ft. Further no incident of
terrorism has been reported from the region due to improved
relations between government and the army and the local
community.

Jyotigram, the Innovative Power and Irrigation Reform

initiative from Gujarat shows how Innovation can be used to
tackle the highest and most sensitive issues in a inclusive
manner. This Innovation has reduced electricity distribution
losses from 30.64 % to 21.8%. It revived a bankrupt
electricity board, 9% of rural households have noted an
increase in electricity bills. Gujarat has become the only State
whose ground water balance has turned positive in recent
years.

Karnataka partnered with the Azim Premji Foundation to

Innovate primary education in Government schools. They have
instituted an innovative process to assess the schools
capability to build student competencies rather than mere
marks. This will lead to many more students passing out of
primary school having acquired the basic competencies.
 The Government of Andhra Pradesh played a catalyst role
in the emergence of a most powerful and innovative healthcare
initiative – EMRI. This is the world’s largest and the only free
emerging response service. Through ambulances, an
emergency response centre and pre-hospital care this initiative
is helping save almost 3 lakh lives per month.

The growing Innovation momentum in Corporates, Social

Enterprises, NGO’s and Government agencies is beginning to
have a significant impact. More and more organisations have
embedded Innovation cells into their organisation structure.

Recognising this, Government of India, through the

Planning Commission is integrating an Innovation acceleration
thrust into the next Five Year Plan. State Governments are
also exploring ways to institutionalize and accelerate
innovation.
 This gathering momentum reinforces my belief that
‘Innovation must be for India, what quality was for Japan a
transforming agent’. Let’s build this momentum to the point it
makes India’s Innovative Development a Global role model.

Rajiv Narang
Chairman & Managing Director,
Erehwon Innovation Consulting