by NR INDRAN / INT

Mumbai : Indo-American Chamber of Commerce inassociation with MARG Ltd & VirginiaTech today organised a colloquium on “Catalyzing Research and Innovation toaddress emerging needs.” The discussion focused on the urgent need forR&D to develop new or customized products and services that addressfeatures of affordability, scalability, durability and sustainability.

A distinguished  panel addressed a gathering of like–minded thinkers, social entrepreneurs,scientists and educationalists apart from others. Jim Duffey, Secretary of Technology, Virginia State, USA wasthe key note speaker of the panel discussion. Some of the other panelists included – John E. Dooley, Vice President for Outreach and International Affairs, Virginia Tech, James Golsen,  Principal Commercial Officer, U.S Consulate, Raman Govindarajan, Chairman,Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (TamilNadu branch) and GRK Reddy, Chairman & Managing Director, MARG Group.

The panelists tressed upon different facets of global economic growth and the industrial revolution which acted as catalysts in creating new economies causing the bigleap in development, and up liftment of the standard of living of the masses. It also discussed on the research & innovation priorities for India and theneed of R&D to develop new or customized products & services that are  tailor made for India.

Jim Duffey, Secretary of Technology, Virginia State, USA, said “Theevolution and usage of all industrial development across North America, Europeand Japan has been heavily influenced by the affordability and needs of those societies. Even though India benefited from most of these technologies, the hugely different social construct in India calls for a new direction of customized research and development to suit our specific and unique needs”.

At this juncture when India is fast emerging as aglobal Research and Innovation hub, MARGand Virginia Tech, USA arejointly collaborating to set up a Centerof Research through Virginia Tech’s Institutefor Critical Technology and Applied Science (VT-ICTAS).  The Center will be located in the smart eco-systemof MARG Swarnabhoomi, the campus of education, research, innovation, industry and living (located mid-way between Chennai and Pondicherry, on the scenic East Coast Road).  This Innovation Center proposes to addresslarge scale research opportunities by challenging traditional disciplinary and academicapproaches. The three identified initial focus areas of Research will be

Energy Harvesting

Cognitive Radio and

Nano Technology

Thespeakers opined that offering quality products and services at affordable pricehas always been the biggest challenge in India. With nearly 600 million peoplein the lower income group, the needs and priorities of India differ from the developed world. There is an urgent need for R&D to develop new orcustomized products and services that address features of affordability, scalability,durability and sustainability in areas of housing, education, energy, health care, transportation, infrastructure,environmental conservation, public policy, governance, urban planning etc. Italso requires innovative approaches supported by interdisciplinary researchtranscending global boundaries

Asa part of the elite panel, GRK Reddy,Chairman & Managing Director, MARG Ltd.said, “Research and Innovation will drivethe Indian Economy of the future. At MARG Group, we try and innovate constantly and we are consciousthat India today requires a leadership role in cutting edge research and radicalthinking as a platform for breakthrough innovation. I am confident that ourcollaboration with Virginia Tech to set up a Innovation centre at MARGSwarnabhoomi is not just timely but will also soon influence every aspect ofour life through affordable new products & services, thereby improvingliving standards of billions in India and around the world”

While discussing the 3 areas of collaborativeresearch and innovation that MARG and Virgina Tech i.e. Energy Harvesting,Cognitive Radio and Nano Technology, the speakers stressed that these arecritical product development areas that will radically reshape our economies,labour market, social structures and indeed our entire relationship with thenatural world.

Companiesare setting up Research & Innovation (R&I) centers in India to servethe local market as also to deliver new products faster to the global markets. 300 MNCs have already setup their R&Icenters in India.  MARGSwarnabhoomi, christened as the “Land of New Thinking” and uniquely integratingeducation, research, innovation, industry and living for co-existence ofeducational institutions, manufacturing & research companies, IT servicesfirms, housing and healthcare facilities all under one roof , is only leadingthis trend.

Commenting on the need of research initiatives, John E. Dooley, The Vice President forOutreach & International Affairs, Virginia Tech, said “Theresearch areas such as Energy Harvesting, Cognitive Radio and Nano Technology havefar reaching implications and business opportunities for various industries andcould result into affordable new products and services for improvement of theliving standards of billions of people inside and outside India. With activeparticipation and collaboration by the industry, academicians and researchers,it is possible to discover better solutions that could make a difference interms of National/Global impact.”

With concertedefforts by public & private sectors catalyzed by a ‘reverse brain drain”, afavorable Research & Innovation environment has been created in India.Although, investment in R&D has been negligible (0.8% of GDP in the lastdecade) for a long time in India, this is now likely to move forward towardsthe trend in developed countries (investing in the range of 2.5% to 4.5% oftheir GDP)

Adding to the discussion, RamanGovindarajan, Chairman, Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (Tamil Nadubranch), said “Congratulationsto MARG and VIRGINIA TECH for this wonderful facility in Tamil Nadu forInnovation and Advanced Research on very useful subjects to the society likeEnergy Harvesting etc.   This eventre-iterates the emergence of India’s on Education Sector, besides creatingquality professional workforce, which is now the envy of the world,  besides having projects like this which willuplift of the quality of life for the common man”

The colloquiumended with positive estimates on growth of research and innovation in India andits likely impact on India’s economy and growth as a ‘super-power’.

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