Despite innovation being the buzzword these days, there is not enough private money flowing into social innovation, feels Manoj Kumar, head of innovation at Tata Trusts, the philanthropic arm of India's largest business group.
Therefore, Tata Trusts is putting lot of effort in bringing social innovations to the forefront. Through its Foundation for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship, it plans to fund organisations that target problem areas in healthcare, education, rural upliftment, water and poverty alleviation.
"The commercial innovation scenario in India is quite buzzing because there is a use case for companies and they are willing to fund it. On the social side, however, only government is spending. There is a huge gap in the funding requirements of social innovators, which we are trying to fill," said Kumar in an interview.
Kumar was part of a programme to announce the India Innovation Growth Programme 2.0 (IIGP 2.0). Tata Trusts is one of the partners in the programme along with Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, and Lockheed Martin.
Aimed at accelerating indigenous innovations through incubation of affordable, accessible and acceptable solutions, the programme offers an opportunity for innovators across India to bring breakthrough ideas to market in areas such as agriculture, healthcare, water, energy, life sciences, aeronautics, biotechnology, chemistry, communications, computing, defence, electronics, information technology, manufacturing, materials, nanotechnology, petrochemicals, semiconductors and transportation.
IIGP 2.0 has already met with early success. Five of the 2017 winners have begun to market their products in India and overseas. Two others have conducted field trials, while three have successfully created proof of concepts and product validation.
The IIGP has two separate tracks: a University Challenge, aimed at students, is complemented by an Open Innovation Challenge, aimed at innovators and entrepreneurs across the country.
Each track focuses on identifying and supporting both industrial and social innovations. IIGP holds parallel challenges each year, supporting innovations through the three phases of ideation, innovation and acceleration. Shortlisted winners will be sent for an international exposure visit to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, US.