Chairperson
The National Innovation Foundation (NIF) - India has touched the lives of millions of citizens in the country through its continued focus on Grassroots Innovation, Outstanding Traditional Knowledge and student creativity-driven innovations. There were always innovative citizens amongst us who were creative in finding solutions for their day-to-day problems. However, until NIF came into existence in the year 2000, their innovations were waiting to be recognized and supported in terms of engineering, finance, patenting and turning them into entrepreneurs. Today, we find hundreds of such grassroots innovators not only change their lives but also contribute to the wealth generation of the country.
When NIF started in the year 2000, the word innovation was not heard of. With the presence and ever-increasing social impact of NIF, a lot has changed in the innovation and entrepreneurship eco-system of the country for good and today after two decades of existence, neither the term grassroots innovation, nor the identity called innovator is a stranger to the country and the rest of the world. Not only did innovators who were scouted and supported to strengthen India’s supply side of innovations benefit, but also it led to the welfare of the citizens at large from innovations of their own people which simultaneously strengthened a demand for the innovative technologies.
Also, NIF is helping grass root innovators in protecting their intellectual properties, patenting their innovations in their names and provide market accessibility through the last mile through social dissemination initiatives, and make their innovations affordable by virtue of extensive value addition and demand generation which is defined the inclusive character of innovations in the country. As a result, on a large scale, the common people understood what difference innovations could make to one’s life and they came forward in large numbers not just as a destination for the end use of innovations but also as a source of first thought about an innovative technology. NIF’s large database with over three lakh innovations bears testimony to this impact. This has also proved that while one may have missed being part of the education system, yet it doesn’t take away innovation-based opportunities from them.
It is said that the 21st century belongs to a country that innovates and hence, there is a new thrust to create an innovation eco-system in India. NIF through programs like INSPIRE_MANAK is playing an important role in cultivating an innovation culture in children at the school level. NIF will continue to play this role of making India an innovative country