The circuses going on small screen and print media for quite some time now would have certainly damaged the image of the nation around the developed world. Most of the days, it had been disgusting to watch or go through it. However, there were some holy grails of hope for me. I shall like to share with the elite and young group of my readers.

‘Business Today’ has recently reprinted an article, ‘Innovation’s Holy Grail’ from Harvard Business Review that was written by C.K. Prahalad and R.A. Mashelkar and published in its July-August 2010 issue. It deals with a number of Gandhian innovations from India- disruptive business models of TCS, Infosys and Wipro that made India an IT power to reckon with; Asia’s fastest supercomputer in 2007 by Tata’s Computational Research Laboratories (CRL); Tata Motors’ Nano; Lupin’s drug development process; and EMRI’s world’s largest emergency management entity that handles 60,000 to 80, 000 calls a day and uses 2,600 ambulances to attend to 7,000 emergencies a day, saving 110 lives a day with help of 11, 00 employees.

New York Times published on June 2, a news report, ‘Organic Farming Finds a Growing Fan Base in India’ by AMY YEE. The article would have certainly raised the hopes of many of a good future for this business of farming. It’s really heartening that in a country like India and its most backward state, Bihar. I hear of organic farming even in remote villages.

India Knowledge@Wharton June 3, 2011 has a report on “2011 Innovation Tournament: Finding ‘A Novel Match Between a Solution and a Need’

The tournament judged three Indian entries as winner:

Best new customer-centric innovation: L3, for a new video encryption technology. Anil Gupte has patented the process and plans to market it through his company, K.E.E.N.

The “Hair Twister” team from India proposed a mat filled with human hair to clean up oil spills.

Many individuals and young entrepreneurs are helping to innovate the products that will be attractive worldwide particularly in Africa and Latin America because of its affordability. An old employee of Godrej developed ChhotuKool, a battery-operated refrigerator that can cool to about 20degrees below outside temperature priced at RS 3,200.

IIMs, IITs and many engineering institutes are incubating new innovative products that one day will change the quality of living for the common people at the bottom of the pyramid in rural and urban India. Anil Gupta of IIM, Ahmedabad has made a big difference with push for grassroots innovations covering every corner of India.

And how exciting it is to know the arrival of Rs 2200 laptop that will be given to the students of IIT, Rajsthan by June?

I also read about an engineering marvel in making that will be a pride of the nation: “When completed in 2016, the 1.3-km railway bridge over the Chenab will soar 359 meters above the river bed, 19 meters higher than France’s Tarn River bridge.”

All these news provide hope. I am sure the number of such innovations will increase exponentially in days to come. And India in real sense becomes product innovator. It will move to take over the leadership of hardware rather than limiting itself to software only.

I wish the scientists and technocrats work for innovating all the household appliances, be it an air conditioner or cooker or washing machine that runs on solar power.