In my recent book on Grassroots Innovations ( 2016, http://www.amazon.in/Grassroots-Innovation-Minds-Margin-Marginal/dp/8184005873) I describe this dilemma and I quote: “The role of women in grassroots innovations has thus remained rather obscure. The number of innovations by women has also been rather small in the Honey Bee database compared to their real-life societal contributions. There could be many reasons…
With increasing pressure on urban and rural spaces, there is a looming crisis ahead of us in the next few decades. How will we negotiate scarcity of physical spaces with our cultural, emotional and spiritual spaces for “the other” getting squeezed more and more. There is a major onslaught on pluralistic vision of future living…
I inaugurated the GIC unit set up by Subhash ola, a Presidential Grassroots Innovation Award winner of NIF at Behror, midway, Delhi-Jaipur highway. He invented a very cost and energy efficient way of recycling steam to generate power, and/or improving efficiency in textile, food, pharma, plywood industry etc. Sixty per cent saving in water and…
While reflecting on innovation ecosystem for national transformation a few days ago at an apex industrial association forum, I had to ask the industry representatives as to why were they so complacent in seeking ideas from outside? Many MNCs with even a very large market share and no imminent threat to their dominance seem more worried about…
The history of injustice with Dalit communities has not always subdued their spirit. There are many instances when some of them have come out of low self-image, low self-deprecating belief systems and decided to break out of culture of subjugation, learned-helplessness both involuntary and also voluntary. Extreme events some times are a historical necessity to…
There are goals which we wish to pursue faster in the larger public interest but often lose track of certain values of subsidiarity in design, action, review and redesign. What does subsidiarity imply in the context of public policy? Let us take one of the most noble, long overdue goal of removing open defection through…
SRISTI and BIRAC-DBT (http://www.birac.nic.in/desc_new.php?id=98) have decided to facilitate the Innovations by students and support value addition by students in grassroots innovations and outstanding traditional knowledge. The purpose is to support early stage student led ideas and innovations even at proof of concept level for recognition and further development in the field of medical devices, diagnostics,…
SRISTI celebrates the creativity and innovation of young technological students by recognising their outstanding projects with Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Awards. These awards are given every year during the Festival of Innovation (FOIN) at Rashtrapati Bhawan in the month of March. Next year, these awards are due tentatively on March 5, 2017 at FOIN.…
When unsung grassroots innovators from different parts of the country stay as a guest of the Hon’ble President of India as a part of Innovation Scholar-in-residence, a small statement is made about Indian value system. There are not too many countries where the Office of the Head of the State hosts a Festival of Innovation at Rashtrapati Bhawan. This journey of creative children, students and farmers and artisans over the last 26 years has been steered by the Honey Bee Network, thanks to the patronage of the last three presidents of our country.
Farmers in Jalgaon district of Maharashtra grow okra as border plantation to their cotton crops and have successfully managed to control the pest menace by using the traditional practise of burying the okra in the ground, says Prof Anil K Gupta. Gupta, who teaches at the IIM-Ahmedabad and the founder of the National Innovation Foundation…