JOIN USInvent in India should be the motto, says Raghunath Mashelkar
The crisis situation involving COVID-19 pandemic should be treated as the right time to launch 'Invent in India' in the lines of 'Make in India', says Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, the eminent scientist, technocrat and innovator.
"India has the potential to make products that have quality, affordability and sustainability," said Dr Mashelkar, who had transformed the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research as its Director-General.
Speaking to DH, Dr Mashelkar, while appreciating Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, stressed that one has to start making totally Indian products and look at tapping the domestic as well as international markets.
In fact, the 77-year-old optimist is now mentoring a series of projects, in his capacity as Chairperson of Governing Council of Marico Innovation Foundation and Jury Chair, with a mission of 'Built for India', 'Built by India'.
The three innovations are CREA Worldwide's breathable PPE kit for COVID-warriors, Log 9 Materials Scientific Pvt Ltd's multi-focal UV disinfection chamber called CoronaOven, and Saral Design Solutions' high-quality three-ply surgical masks.
"These innovators proved their mettle by pivoting their existing businesses and reapplying its tenets to arrive at breakthrough, India specific, affordable yet high-quality solutions. To ensure that these solutions finally help our society in these trying times, we will work closely with the winners now to help them convert their great ideas into lasting impact," he said.
Speaking on #Innovate2BeatCOVID initiative conceived by Harsh Mariwala, the founder of Marico Innovation Foundation and Chairman of Marico Ltd, he said that ideas have the power to bring in changes.
Dr Mashelkar, who is a pioneer of 'Gandhian engineering', and valiantly fought and revoked the wrong US patents on turmeric and Basmati rice based on India’s traditional knowledge, said that 200-odd countries are fighting COVID-19.
"In the emerging scenario, people are not in favour of Chinese products. This clearly states our advantageous situation," he said.
Dr Mashelkar, who has got all the three Padma awards and the Maharashtra Bhushan award, said that the development of a vaccine for COVID-19 will take 12 to 18 months. "Like hand-washing in homes, disinfection will also become a discipline," he said, adding that we have to be ready all the times as far as innovation is concerned. "Due diligence and standardisation are going to be key to the success," he said.