LESSONS FROM THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE IN FRUGAL INNOVATION AND SOME QUESTIONS

Prosiding Forum Tahunan Pengembangan Iptekin Nasional 2012 7 On the pharmaceutical front, the picture is mixed. While on the one hand, the government has provided excise duty concessions for drugs discovered in India and covered by patents, on the other hand through the re-introduction of product patents on drugs in the 2005 Patents Act, it has potentially made new drugs more expensive and prevented Indian pharmaceutical companies from re-engineering patented molecules. However, through compulsory licensing, it retains the right to make patented molecules available to the public at lower prices as it did recently in the case of a Bayer cancer drug. In 2010, the Government signaled its intent to support innovation that is beneficial on the social front by declaring 2000- 2010 as the “Decade of Innovation,” and setting up a high level National Innovation Council NIC. The NIC has a focus on supporting and diffusing innovation that can solve the myriad social problems of the country. Given the government’s financial constraints, this essentially means through low-cost innovation. The NIC plans to set up a USD 1 billion venture fund and innovation clusters around universities in different regions. The first such “Cluster Innovation Centre” was set up at Presidency University in Kolkata. The NIC also brought together national innovation czars from around the world to Delhi in December 2011 to brainstorm on how the country can support social innovation better.

3. LESSONS FROM THE INDIAN EXPERIENCE IN FRUGAL INNOVATION AND SOME QUESTIONS

A list of impactful frugal innovations from India is given in Table 1. Table 1. Major Frugal Innovations Emerging from India Innovation Type of Innovation Comment 1 Aakash Low-cost Tablet computer Based on effort by government of India to procure low-cost computer to enhance access to education; actually developed outside India 2 Aravind Eyecare Low-cost cataract surgery Based on innovation in process of cataract surgery and change in business model 3 Bharti Low-cost mobile services Based on change in business model 4 GE MAC 400 Portable ECG Machine Part of a family of medical devices built with basic functionality for emerging markets 5 Hole in the Wall Demonstrates that children can learn to use computers on their own with little support. Social innovation 6 Husk Power Systems Energy from waste Primarily a business model innovation of how to use waste to supply energy to rural communities 7 Jaipur Foot Low-cost, customized prosthetic Made with basic technology and materials; appropriate for Indian social and cultural conditions 8 Jaipur Knee Low-cost artificial knee Collaborative effort of Jaipur foot team with US-based Prosiding Forum Tahunan Pengembangan Iptekin Nasional 2012 8 Innovation Type of Innovation Comment research laboratories 9 Kerala Palliative Care Community-based palliative care for seriously ill patients Social innovation 10 Nano World’s lowest cost car Rigorous optimization of design and engineering of car 11 Narayana Hrudayalaya – Heart Surgery Low-cost open heart surgery Process and business model innovation 12 Open Source Drug Discovery Collaborative platform for drug discovery to treat tropical diseases Alternate model to intellectual property-based framework of large drug firms 13 Reverse-engineered Vaccines Low-cost vaccines Based on strong technological capabilities of Indian firms 14 Selco Solar energy devices Innovation is primarily in the business model of how solar energy devices are made available to consumers with limited purchasing power 15 Swach Low-cost, high technology water filter Collaborative effort by group of companies from within the Tata group 16 Vortex ATM Low-cost rural automated teller machines Rugged product designed for use in challenging conditions Source: of Innovations: Bound Thornton, 2012, Figure 1, p. 15 Some broad trends are visible from the innovations listed in this table:  Many of the innovations are based on process or business model innovations.  Though some of them use high technology, technological advancement is not the main driver of the impactful frugal innovations that have emerged from India so far.  Government or formal innovation system inputs have not played a significant direct role in a majority of these innovations. The Indian experience with frugal innovation offers some learning on the frugal innovation process and what it takes to enhance it, but raises several questions as well: 3.1. What is Frugal Innovation?