Lockheed initiative aims at $1.5 b economic impact

The DST-Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Programme (a joint initiative between the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and the combat manufacturing giant), is expecting around $1.5 billion (Rs 9,000 crore) worth of economic impact for India, over the next three years.

The IIGP provides a platform for nurturing innovation in India. Since incepetion, there has been a rapid rise in applications — to the tune of 6,124. The programme focuses on a ‘Mind to Market’ strategy by offering training modules to enable participants to streamline their capabilties, and implement appropriate ideas, in turn helping several of them in their quest to find suitable business partners in India, as well as, globally.

This has resulted in 414 engagement agreements being signed between innovators ad industry partners/investors (in the realms of healthcare, ICT, energy, etc). Meanwhile, the total revenue generated by the participating companies under IIGP is $860 million.

Addressing delegates at the launch of the 2015 edition of IIGP’s Bengaluru Technology Expo and Innovator-Investor Meet, Adviser and Member Secretary of the National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board, Harsh Kumar Mittal, said, “Thanks to innovators, the quality of solutions, and the number of business engagements have increased... Investors are lining up for amazing innovations.”

Earlier in the day, Karnataka Minister for Health and Family Welfare U T Khader said, “Where healthcare is concerned, science and technology plays a major role. Technology must be sought from India, and around the world, for it adds impetus to the vatrious inititaives of the government.”