Any innovation happening either at grassroots level or in the higher educational institutions must be linked to the industry for commercialisation, President Pranab Mukherjee said here today.
Addressing an event at Indian Institute of Management (IIM), he said innovation is key to economic development and reflects the maturity of a nation and society to respond to the emerging needs and challenges.
"Innovation is a continuous process and needs to be nurtured at each and every step," the President said as he asked the premier institute to establish strong industry-academic linkages.
"Innovation, higher education and industry need to be closely networked for maximum benefit of the society.
"Any innovation happening either at the grassroots level or in the higher educational institutions must be linked to the industry for commercialisation of the innovation," he said during the event to give away APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE awards to young innovators here.
About 40 young minds, majority of them between 7-15 age groups and belonging to rural areas of the country, were awarded by the President for their innovation.
Over 28,000 submissions were received for the APJ Abdul Kalam IGNITE competition from all the states and union territories in the country.
"It is heartening to see so many creative young minds tackling some of the challenges faced by our society at such a young age. This certainly augurs well for the future of our country," Mukherjee said.
He appreciated the institute's Center for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship for doing path-breaking work in strengthening the ecosystem of innovation in Ahmedabad, Pune, Jaipur, and other cities all over India.
"Elective courses such as Shodh Yatra and Rural Immersion Module encourage students to experience how innovation is sparked at the grassroots and among the underprivileged.
"These kinds of innovative programmes will help in realising the entrepreneurial goals identified through 'Start-up India, Stand-up India' initiative launched by our Prime Minister," the President said.
Mukherjee said as the Visitor of 114 central institutions, he has been asking the institutions to establish strong industry-academic inter-linkages.
"This is one of the ways to readily bring the innovations in the market. For this to happen, I have been encouraging the institutes of higher learning to collaborate with the institutes and industry within India and abroad for creating a conducive ecosystem for nurturing innovation and research," the President said.
After visiting the innovation exhibition here, Mukherjee said the children have proved that innovative spirits can dispel any amount of inertia and replace it with exciting new possibilities.
"I am very optimistic about our future when I see the younger generation which does not want to live indefinitely with unsolved problems. Innovations from creative youngsters are the best examples of 'Samvedna se srijansheelta' (innovation from compassion or empathy).
"India is a country of 1.2 billion creative minds. The constructive use of these billions of minds can free the Indian society from many of the problems which we are facing today. It is for each one of us as an individual to make a commitment and to dedicate oneself for solving the problems of society and country," he said.
The function was attended by Gujarat Governor O P Kohli and chief minister Anandiben Patel, among others.
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Meanwhile, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel was drawn to two of the innovative ideas at display during the event and expressed interest in recreating them as products.
"I am impressed with the idea of tractor having solar roof. This can prove to be very cost-effective for farmers. Another is a hand-cart which can be folded. This can be useful for those poor citizens who don't have space to park hand-carts outside their huts," she said.
"I request my officials to study these innovations so that we can replicate them into products," Patel said.
Among others IIMA director Professor Ashish Nanda and executive vice chairman of NIF Professor Anil Gupta were also present during the event.
