Ignoring Innovation is Closing Windows of Opportunity | UPSC Mains Essay Preparation PDF Download

Ignoring Innovation is Closing Windows of Opportunity 

structure

(1) Opening    —    Solution of any problem can never be obtained on radical or national or narrow grounds.

    —    Vivekananda's prophecy.

(2) Body    —    Whether the doors are opened too early and too fast.

    —    Innovations in India.

    —    Other's experience often dominates our thinking.

    —    Technological strength.

    —    Not limit the innovation to a minor level..

    —    Failure should not deter us.

    —    Innovation in agriculture.

(3) Closing    —    Constant large scale doses of additions to the experience base are required through the new experience gained by innovation.

 “There cannot be any progress without the whole world following in the wake and it is becoming everyday clearer that the solution of any problem can never be obtained on racial or national or narrow grounds. Every idea has to become broad till it covers the whole of this world, every aspiration must go on increasing till it has engulfed the whole of humanity, nay, the whole of life, with its scope”.

This was Vivekanada's prophecy in 1897, a century ago. Advances in science and technology, and the consequential complex cause and effect interactions with the agriculture, industry, economics, business, trade, politics or culture, have truly brought us to a stage where “diabolism” is really felt in many walks of life by an increasingly large number of people. Transborder flows of ideas, images, knowledge, goods, services, capital or people are taking place on an unprecedented scale, despite the fact that most societies are still clinging to many age-old concepts of governance, domination, controls, tariffs or denials.

Even while the grand vision is true, the nitty-gritty of actual living poses many problems and challenges, to individuals, groups and societies. The impact of global competition is felt by domestic industries brought up in a protected regime. Questions naturally arise whether the doors are opened too early and too fast. Many institutional mechanisms such as financing mechanisms, regulatory bodies, social welfare systems or indigenous technology development systems are being severely jolted. Aspirations for following the rapid growth models and consumption patterns taking place elsewhere are also having an impact on local infrastructure in the country. There are also increasing problems of urban environmental pollution. Multiple lobbies and pulls and pressures form different groups in the country are also creating a confusing picture.

How do we face these challenges before the country? No country can easily follow some other model, that too at a different period in history. So we have to learn to innovate with our own systems.

Innovation is somehow inhibited in our country in a number of ways. Most of those who control the levers or our economy — the administrators, business persons, financiers, diplomats, and those in charge of public accountability systems — are often allergic to or intolerant of failures and, therefore, are afraid of innovation. Even when their experience shows that they have reached the end of the road, many prefer to keep their engines on at idling speeds, rather than explore new paths. For any new idea that is thrown up, the standard questions are: Has anybody done it elsewhere in the world ? What is their experience? Is there any experience of doing it in India ?

Others' experience often dominates our thinking. We tend to forget that the persons, the business houses or administrations which had earlier experimented, may not always share with us the details of their experience and they themselves may have innovated further steps based on their experience. With our penchant for caution, we often emphasise experience over innovation. If we have to be successful in the rapidly changing world of today where, as Mr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, puts it, “Strength respects strength”. He should learn to treat knowledge-based experience and innovation as two sides of the same coin. Such an approach is especially useful where we have considerable gaps in our knowledge base, which essentially means we have lagged behind in building up an experience base through innovations.

This is particularly true of the technology scenario in the country, where we lag behind significantly in many areas. Around the world, most firms most firms who are world leaders now have built up their technological strengths through an assiduous process of continual and incremental innovations. In this process, they may occasionally be benefited by a few breakthroughs, giving them a considerable lead over their competitors. It is often difficult for the late-comers, who try to imitate the leaders, to bridge the gaps easily. Many researched studies indicate that imitation is often as difficult as innovation in such competitive environments. So most  Indian firms, who have large gaps in their present technological strengths, have to learn to tap the experience base of others rapidly as well as learn to innovate simultaneously.

For example, having missed the opportunity of venturing into large scale microelectronics production about two decades ago, most Indian firms or laboratories may find it difficult to attempt it now when investment for a viable microelectronics production facility would cost $ 1.5 billion. But there is a reasonable experience base in the country to produce system level products using microprocessors. We even have experience in making parallel processors or supercomputers. We also have a fair bit of experience in application software.

But we need to learn to venture forth in a big way and not limit the innovation to a minor level. We have suffered pilot plant syndromes too long. Innovation in order to capture and capitalise on our strengths would mean instituting several 

measures: easier access to finance; many special zones to attract industries; promotion of competitive research; facilitation of potentially bright newcomers in their early days of start up and so on. A few failures out of these should not deter us. They can form the experience base for further correction.

Similarly, as had been demonstrated by this country in the sixties and seventies with the green revolution and later in various cash crops as well as in mild production, it is possible to unleash the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit in the agro and food processing industries. These are avenues for generating wealth and employment for people on a large scale as well as to capture global markets. A series of innovative measures would be called for ranging from selective land reforms, newer forms of contractual relationship between the growers and industries to massive doses of technological inputs like better cooling and storage equipment, packing, transport containers and processing methods.

There are examples in other areas as well. Modern day concerns for environment also offer plenty of opportunities to tap our ancient experience base in herbs and natural products and to innovate products in the modern context.

In a fast changing world, knowledge can also be a perishable commodity. Windows of opportunities shut after three to five years. Constant large scale doses of additions to the experience base are required through the new experience gained by innovation.