IP Creation Can Make India the Next Global Innovation Hub

In today’s world, technology is playing a transformational role in enabling innovation and driving change. New ideas, new business models and new technologies are leading to the birth of the “ideas economy,” where the “innovation quotient” has emerged as the key determinant of market value.

India will lose out on the opportunity to benefit from innovation-led, value-added growth if it fails to recognize the enormous value that can be created by leveraging Intellectual Property (IP). Despite the scientific and engineering talent in the country, India had filed just 1,400 international patent applications in 2014. The same year, China filed 18 times as many patents as India. Japan filed 30 times as many and Korea’s count was 9 times more. The US filed over 61,000 patent applications, 44 times more than India! No wonder then that India was recently ranked 81 out of 141 countries on the Global Innovation Index 2015, well behind middle income countries such as Brazil, China and South Africa.

The Top 5 Life Sciences Developments You Should Look Out for in 2016

Courtesy: Google Images

These are exciting times for the Life Sciences sector as it builds on its understanding of the disease at the cellular and genetic level to usher in new and differentiated therapies into the market. Furthermore, biomedical advances are likely to transform global health with early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention for chronic and killer diseases like autoimmune and cancer, with a promise to enhance the quality of patients’ lives.

The Top 5 scientific developments to be closely tracked in 2016 are:

Australia & India: Combining Technology and Entrepreneurship to Innovate the Future

Image Courtesy: ANU Website

I am indeed honoured to deliver the 17th Dr KR Narayanan Oration instituted in memory of the late President of India, a great statesman and a close friend of Australia.  

At a time when technology is transforming the world we live in, I would like to take this opportunity of sharing my thoughts on how our two countries can collaborate to leverage technology and innovate a better future.  

The full text of the speech can be viewed on SlideShare:

Australia-India: Combining Technology and Entrepreneurship to Innovate from Kiran Shaw

Can Brand India Reach for the Stars Next?

Indo-Japanese Partnership Model can Ensure Highest Quality at Lowest Cost

Why FY14 was a Remarkable Year for Biocon

The fiscal year gone by has been one of the most exciting ones for Biocon. We delivered on our promise of affordable innovation, recorded robust top line and bottom line growth, augmented our capacities, optimized our product portfolio and introduced initiatives to achieve operational efficiencies.

  

We successfully commercialized two world-class, low-cost monoclonal antibodies, an outcome of our innovation model– ALZUMAb™ and CANMAB™ , in India in FY14.

Our novel, ‘first-in-class’ biologic drug for chronic plaque psoriasis, ALZUMAb™, was made available to patients in August 2013. It is the first biological drug for psoriasis to be researched, developed and manufactured in India. ALZUMAb™ has received an enthusiastic response from both physicians and patients as it is an affordable treatment option that promises patients a better quality of life. This unique product offers an effective biologic treatment solution to 1-2% of the Indian population who suffer from psoriasis.

Biocon followed this up with CANMAb™, the world’s lowest priced trastuzumab. The launch of CANMAb™ in India represents an important milestone. It demonstrates that Biocon’s decade-long experience and expertise in developing biologics has equipped the company with the necessary clinical development and manufacturing skills to deliver high quality, world-class products.   

Creating IP, Adding Value

With these two launches, Biocon has again proved to the world that as far as scientific talent is concerned Indians are second to none.

Moreover, these two launches have lent credibility to our strategy of building a rich pipeline of innovative programs that has today made Biocon one of the highest R&D spenders in this country.

I believe that the only way we can create exponential and enduring value for Biocon’s stakeholders is through innovation and intellectual wealth and I am happy to say we are doing just that.

Here, I would like to draw attention to the fact that Biocon has been able to deliver on its promise of affordable innovation despite the current hostile environment towards pharma innovation in India.

Surmounting Challenges

Uncertainty over clinical trials is just one of the several challenges that Biocon faced in FY14. But in keeping with the company’s ethos, we addressed them with a sense of dedication and determination.

The clinical trials environment in India has become extremely challenging because of the irrational stand taken by courts on the issue and the government’s knee-jerk policy-making to mollify the judiciary.

If the situation is not rectified, it can have an irretrievable impact on India's ability to partake in new drug development and end up denying patients here the benefits from the latest advances in medical science.

To address the increasing product commoditization in the small molecules business and improve profitability, Biocon had embarked on its strategy of moving up the value chain to forward integrate into building a robust pipeline of generic formulations, including ANDAs for the US market. This pipeline of difficult-to-make, technology-intensive molecules will be the growth driver for the small molecules business in the next few years. It will also make Biocon among the few companies in the world with a strong portfolio of small molecule generics as well as generic biologics.

In FY14, the domestic pharma industry saw growth slow down to 6% due to the combined impact of economic slowdown, intense competition, and issues related to drug price controls. However, leveraging the strengths of its business model with a focus on specialty pharma, Biocon was able to outpace the industry, growing its India business revenue at 13%, over double the pace of the industry growth.

Financial Highlights

Besides, the India branded formulations business, other principal revenue drivers like insulin exports and research services also helped Biocon’s revenue jump 16% in FY14. Our profit for the previous year was boosted by an exceptional income related to the dissolution of our global partnership with Pfizer. Excluding the exceptional income recognized last year, profit for FY14 grew 28%.

Good demand from emerging markets for our insulin exports led to a 15% growth in Biopharma sales for the year. To meet increasing demand, Biocon had enhanced its insulin manufacturing capacity in Bangalore in FY14.

Given Syngene’s growing stature as a pharma outsourcing partner of global repute, it was no surprise then that our research services business reported stellar growth of 28% in FY14.

Syngene, which has marquee clients like BMS and Abbott, got a strong endorsement of its capabilities this year after Baxter established its Global Research Center at Syngene in Bangalore.

Other Highlights

In FY14, Biocon strengthened its focus on research partnerships with two important collaborations.

Biocon entered into a pact with Quark Pharmaceuticals to develop novel therapeutics for treating serious ophthalmic conditions like glaucoma.

It also tied up with Advaxis for developing a novel cancer immunotherapy to treat HPV-associated cervical cancer in women.

As a leading bio-pharma enterprise Biocon embarked on establishing Biocon Academy, a Centre of Excellence for Advanced learning in Biosciences. The Academy will train engineering and biotech graduates to enhance their employability and strengthen the talent pipeline for the benefit of the country’s bio-pharma sector. The first batch of 30 students who underwent 16 weeks of rigorous learning and skill development will be ready for placements in May. As an extension of its Corporate Social responsibility Biocon is offering 75% of the course fee as scholarship to all the students.

For its flagship program, the Academy has collaborated with Keck Graduate Institute, California.

Biocon was ranked No 6 amongst the Top Ten Global Best Employers as a mark of recognition for its Clarity of vision, CSR initiatives and Quality of research, by the 'Science' Magazine in 2013. It had debuted on the list in 2012 at No. 19.

We stay committed to pursue our innovation led business strategy and build superior value for Biocon and its stakeholders.

Science and Technology Shape Economic Future

The new government will have to act swiftly in course correcting the stalled Indian economy. To begin with, they will have to focus on a number of regulatory reforms that will address the ease of doing business, reduce transaction costs and expedite approval timelines. The lack of rules and guidelines in taxation and business matters have deterred investment and introduced delays in project approvals. These measures alone can add a per cent or two to GDP growth through increased FDI and project implementation.
The new government will also have to bring greater investment into healthcare and education.  Private sector must have a role in these sectors. Other areas include power and natural resources, especially water. We are in urgent need of management of perennial sources of water where there is a staggering loss.

 A sector of strategic importance is science & technology.  We must step up investment in this area. Innovation is key to value-added growth. We have barely leveraged technology to address a number of grand challenges the country faces starting with e-governance. Aadhar has been sub-optimal in its application. This is a powerful platform that should have served as the basis for e-governance and e-healthcare, but unfortunately this has not happened. The next government has the opportunity to build on the 600 million Aadhar cards and create a unique e-delivery model. Science & technology have a crucial role to play in shaping economic future and the new government must enable innovation through scientific research and development. We must identify key areas in which to build world class scientific and technological excellence eg. genomics, nanoscience, synthetic biology, IT, space technology etc. The ban on clinical trials and GM crops must be lifted. To quote Narendra Modi, “I am all for technology.  We should not discard technology that helps farmers; we must have faith in science. We must put technology and science to use with regulations and add value to produce.”

Finally, it is time we put in place rules and regulations that are unambiguous and transparent and prevent any impediments that often arise due to ambiguity and opaque norms. We must now rely more on deemed and automatic approvals and not inordinately lengthy approval timelines that have denied us infrastructure project implementation which has perhaps knocked off 1-2% off GDP growth.

The Congress manifesto has made a plethora of promises to deliver 8% GDP growth most of which relate to regulatory and fiscal reforms. Let us hope the new government is effective in acting and not be wrapped up in mere rhetoric.

After all, the underlying economy is still strong and capable of delivering robust growth.

The original article appeared in The New Indian Express on the 30^th of March, 2014 and can be viewed here 

Adieu 'Annus Horribilis'

2013 was probably one of the worst years for the Indian economy, with inflation running unbridled and economic growth grinding down to a level below 5 per cent.

Unfortunately, the pharma sector also witnessed an unprecedented slowdown growing at a single digit in 2013 against an average growth of 12 per cent the previous year. The negative impact was further compounded with adverse policy decisions with respect to pricing, FDI, clinical trials and compulsory licensing in India. An overactive USFDA issuing notices to some of the leading Indian pharma companies tarnished the sector’s image. All this made 2013 an ‘Annus Horribilis’ for Indian pharma.

Can India Produce The Next Apple Or Google?

In India, there is a lot of talk about ‘innovation.’ But the innovation that we talk about is not the real innovation. Real innovation has an inherent element of high risk, which Indians are averse to. As a result, you do not see people in India investing in real innovation..

The Role Of Biotechnology In Inclusive Economic Development

25th Intelligence Bureau Centenary Endowment Lecture delivered onSaturday, Dec 22, 2012 at New Delhi by

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Chairman & Managing Director, Biocon Limited

Innovator Pharma Needs to Revisit Pricing Models

To ensure access to healthcare for all, India must harness innovation in discovering drugs, in developing therapeutics and in delivering affordable healthcare. It is in the light of these facts that one should evaluate the impact of the Indian Supreme Court's ruling in the case involving patent protection for Novartis AG's cancer drug, Glivec.

My tenets for aspiring entrepreneurs:

• Be driven by commitment and conviction

• Focus on converting challenges into opportunities

• Be innovation led and build a differentiated business

• Be conscious of the social impact you can make

• Convert failure into success through a learning process

•  Trust your gut instinct more than any analyst report!

• Engrain change management as a part of your business ethos

• Remember integrity is a powerful enabler to success

• Success is even more rewarding if you give back to society.

• FINALLY, FOCUS ON VALUE ADDITION AND NOT WEALTH CREATION

Innovations to take centre stage

“2012 has witnessed a rapidly changing paradigm in healthcare which has bucked global trends of shift towards generics & biosimilars and the growing influence of emerging markets. The global Biopharma industry continued to pursue a strategy of co-development, in-licensing as well as M&As to address the issue of depleting new drug pipelines. In addition to contract manufacturing, new trends of joint commercialization also emerged particularly in Asia as large Pharma was compelled to address challenges of COGS especially in the emerging world where affordability was recognized as a key requirement for market competitiveness.  Growing popularity of generics to contain spiraling healthcare costs augurs well for the Indian pharma industry, however for domestic players the drug pricing policy changes introduced in 2012 are expected to impact the profitability of the Indian pharma.

Biocon during 2012, made significant progress across its businesses particularly in Biosimilars and Novel Molecules where we achieved significant milestones in the development pathway of both biosimilar Insulins, MAbs and Novel Molecules.

The year ahead, holds immense promise for the Indian Biotech sector which is at an inflection point. The industry has leveraged the entrepreneurial spirit to build a strong foundation which has enabled it to grow at a CAGR of 20% for over a decade. The next year will see innovation taking center stage, driving significant progress in the areas of biosimilars & diagnostics for affordable healthcare, integrated traditional medicine, biomedical informatics, bio-fuels for less dependence on petroleum, bioremediation for environmental recovery, enhanced agricultural productivity and improved nutritional attributes.

Biopharma and the healthcare sector is the largest component of the Indian Biotech industry and the most promising.  The coming year will see collaborative trends gaining momentum with more co-development and marketing partnerships – between multinationals and the Indian companies as they seek to accelerate their growth by leveraging emerging markets.  Indian Biopharma is expected to witness an uptrend as Emerging markets grow ahead of the developed markets with 75% of the worldwide growth coming out of these markets. The global generics opportunity estimated to grow twofold and be over $430 bn market by 2016 also augurs well for the Indian pharma. Similarly the Indian Biopharma industry has the potential to carve a significant part of the global biosimilars opportunity estimated to grow five - fold from $ 1 Bn today to $ 5 Bn by 2016. 

In line with these trends, we will see a surge in both Biomanufacturing and bioservices partnerships which will enable innovative solutions for the world coming out of India.  The increasing focus on genomics and proteomics in Pharmaceutical research augers well for Bioinformatics where India can position itself as a key hub of knowledge and expertise. With the excellent foundation, improved infrastructure, good quality talent and enabling regulatory environment, Biotech has the potential to be the next technology beacon for the nation.

As for Biocon we are truly committed to provide affordable high quality biopharmaceuticals for chronic diseases particularly Diabetes, Cancer & Auto Immune diseases. We are on track to bring our second Novel Molecule, Itolizumab, an anti CD6 monoclonal antibody, to the market in India next year.  For 2013, that will be the most significant achievement for Biocon and a great boon for Indian patients struggling to manage Psoriasis.  We will also continue to focus on expanding our Insulin market in several emerging markets in Asia, Middle East North Africa, LATAM and Eastern Europe.  ”   
-  Kiran Mazumdar Shaw- CMD, Biocon

India to see a surge in biomanufacturing partnerships in 2013

Outlook for 2013:

“The year ahead holds immense promise for the Indian Biotech sector which is at an inflection point. The industry has leveraged the entrepreneurial spirit to build a strong foundation which has enabled the industry to grow at a CAGR of 20% for over a decade, growing to a size of US$ 4 Bn in 2011.The next year will see innovation taking center stage, driving significant progress in the areas of biosimilars & diagnostics for affordable healthcare, integrated traditional medicine, biomedical informatics, bio-fuels for less dependence on petroleum, bioremediation for environmental recovery, enhanced agricultural productivity and improved nutritional attributes.

Biopharma and the healthcare sector is the largest component of the Indian Biotech industry and the most promising.   It has the potential to carve out a large portion of the global biosimilars opportunity estimated to assume a size of  $ 2.5 Bn by 2015. The coming year will see collaborative trends gaining momentum with more co-development and marketing partnerships – between multinationals and the Indian companies as they seek to accelerate their growth by leveraging emerging markets.

We will see a surge in both Biomanufacturing and bioservices partnerships which will enable innovative solutions for the world coming out of India.  The increasing focus on genomics and proteomics in Pharmaceutical research augers well for Bioinformatics where India can position itself as a key hub of knowledge and expertise. With the excellent foundation, improved infrastructure, good quality talent and enabling regulatory environment, Biotech has the potential to be the next technology beacon for the nation.

As for Biocon we are truly committed to provide affordable high quality biopharmaceuticals for chronic diseases particularly Diabetes, Cancer & Auto Immune diseases. We are on track to bring our second Novel Molecule,  Itolizumab,  an anti CD6 monoclonal antibody, to the market in India next year.  For 2013, that will be the most significant achievement for Biocon and a great boon for Indian patients struggling to manage Psoriasis.  We will also continue to focus on expanding our Insulin market in several emerging markets in Asia, Middle East North Africa, LATAM and Eastern Europe.  ”

Innovation is the key to entrepreneurial success

Biocon’s Mazumdar-Shaw says India is a fertile ground for entrepreneurs, with a large pool of world-class talent, resources

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw

I call myself an accidental entrepreneur. In 1975, I had just returned to India after completing my studies in Australia to become a brew-master and when that could not happen I was pushed to become an entrepreneur by my Irish partner. As a 25-year-old woman wanting to start her own business, I had to face huge credibility challenges.

My journey of building Biocon started with leveraging my biotechnology skills, experimenting and learning—trying out new ideas and addressing the numerous everyday challenges that are a part and parcel of the business environment in a developing economy like India. As an entrepreneur, my focus was clearly on an innovation-led business model, as I believed the best way to differentiate is through creative pursuit. I always wanted to create a career opportunity for Indian scientists who were otherwise compelled to pursue careers overseas. I also wanted to create a world-class innovative company out of India; eclipsing the imitative reputation that we have. I also wanted to change the poor quality label that Indian products had by developing high quality, sophisticated drugs that met the highest international standards.

By 1983, people in India were slowly beginning to look at entrepreneurship with more openness and I was able to build a promising business with a good team. I knew then that we could make Biocon work only if we followed a strategy of differentiation. Being a research-led business, the perennial question for us was, how do we create value from a research-based model, and could we unlock value from intellectual property (IP)? Over time, gradually we began to unlock value when we developed proprietary technology and began to understand the value of IP. Our enzymes business was such an R&D-led (research and development) business. It became a great success and brought us tremendous value when we exited the business to focus on becoming an integrated biopharmaceuticals company.

My biggest challenge of those times was to get people to understand that business was not all bricks and mortar and that IP is an important asset and bigger in value than a factory. We proved that when we went for our IPO (initial public offering) in 2004. The huge valuation of $1 billion on the day of listing was an endorsement of the biotechnology business we had built over the previous two decades. That was our first eureka moment. It was about translating science into business value. There has been no looking back since then and today we are India’s largest biotech enterprise and an emerging global biopharma enterprise with a focus on delivering affordable innovation. We have many firsts to our credit; Biocon is the only company in the world to develop pichia-based technology for recombinant human insulin, which has made diabetes treatment the most affordable across the globe. We are committed to leveraging India’s cost advantage to deliver affordable therapy solutions for chronic diseases for patients worldwide.

In my entrepreneurial journey, my ability to face and learn from failure and move on has helped me a great deal in being successful. It is a trait that most entrepreneurs need to have in order to be successful. Failures provide the experience that no amount of success can. I am not suggesting one must seek failure, but when it comes, learn from it instead of getting defeated and giving up permanently. My personal journey has been about value creation. For me, wealth equals value and I focus on how much value I can add to the business. My vision for Biocon is that in the next few years, we become a billion-dollar revenue firm and one of our novel drugs makes it to the global markets.

The economic challenges that confront us today—healthcare, education, development, and environment, among others—call for extraordinary steps. India’s ability to generate wealth and create social good will come if we let innovation flourish by encouraging and enabling entrepreneurship. With a large pool of world-class talent and resources, India is a fertile ground for entrepreneurs. They can transform our numerous challenges into opportunities by developing innovative products that can benefit millions and drive economic growth

Educate and Empower Women to Catalyze Inclusive and Equitable Development

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon

Over the past few decades, I have come to see India's development model as a work in progress. Slowly if not always surely, we have improved some parameters of inclusive development. However, deep-rooted systemic challenges remain unaddressed. We need to act with resolute will if we are to realize inclusive and equitable growth. It is in this context that we need to seriously look at one issue that receives much lip-service but very little real attention: The empowerment of women.

Across the world, educating and empowering women has time and again proven to be the catalyst for rapid socio-economic growth. Conversely, societies where women are repressed are among the most backward on most parameters of development. We seem to be somewhere in between – a work in progress. The message for our society and government is loud and clear:

 

If we want to ensure socio-economic development for one and all – as we say we do – educating and empowering women to achieve their true potential is critical.

India is home to over 15% of the world's population and women make up almost half of that number. The development indicators that measure the quality of their life are improving: Maternal mortality rates are declining, women’s literacy rates are increasing and more women have access to healthcare and education. But change is heartbreakingly slow when seen in the context of the continuing discrimination and violence women encounter in this country. India ranks 113 (out of 135 countries) on the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index. According to India’s 2011 census, the sex ratio for children under six was 914 females to 1,000 males, a disturbing decline from 927 in 2001. The ranking of Indian women in economic empowerment is 0.3 where 1.0 is equality.

This is a dangerous state of affairs for any society. The lower economic status of women is alarming enough; their decline in the gender ratio is morally reprehensible. By denying women the opportunities they need to actualize their potential, we are underutilizing the human capital we must leverage in order to progress. Women are undoubtedly the foundation of the basic unit of society – the family. Even in traditional roles they demonstrate immense innovation, skill, and intelligence – in addition to hard work and commitment. If we can effectively harness these attributes, India can effectively roll out a virtuous cycle of inclusive and equitable growth. The education of women is therefore key to unlocking this potential.

In India, where close to 70% of the population lives in rural areas, access to educational opportunities are limited. Moreover, poverty puts the girl child at a greater disadvantage. Add to this the social attitudes towards women, and it is obvious that we need a multi-pronged approach to ensure universal women’s education.

In addressing this issue, we have an opportunity to transform the foundation of education, and rural education in particular. E-infrastructure can deliver relevant education to empower both genders in an efficient and equitable manner. E-education can address the dual challenge of quality and capacity as well as enable our youth to leapfrog into the internet age.

Skills development and life lessons in basic necessities like healthcare and sanitation are also integral to education. When we educate and empower one woman, we set off a chain reaction that transforms the life of her family and the community she lives in. An exemplary model is the network of ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers created under the NRHM. As trained female community health activists who engage with villagers, they have played a crucial role in improving the health of women and children across India.

Equally important is vocational training that can be the key to women’s economic independence. The inspirational efforts of Sewa (the Self-Employed Women’s Association founded by Ela Bhatt) and other successful self-help groups have seeded the spirit of entrepreneurship in hundreds of women. Sewa’s women members are path-breakers, redefining themselves even as they add value to their families and the nation. Empowering women in this manner can enable inclusive socio-economic development and transform India.

In India gender barriers start operating from birth. These prevailing societal perceptions are often the biggest hurdle that shape women’s perception of themselves and society’s expectations of their role. Across all strata of Indian society, people still believe that women are capable of performing only certain types of jobs and that marriage must take precedence over career. This mindset, of both men and women, needs to change if any progress is to be made. We must focus on the girl child and break stereotypes to help her go beyond the traditional mindset and set free her potential.

Take women in science as a case in point. The societal mindset is that women are less capable of understanding science, although all evidence is to the contrary. I faced seemingly insurmountable road-blocks on my path to building Biocon into the institution it is today. As a young woman with hardly any work experience in a male-dominated business environment, it was challenging to set up a biotechnology enterprise to say the least. I can credit my success to my education and upbringing that had helped instill a strong sense of self-belief and a never-say-die spirit in me. Today, I am proud that Biocon is an equal-opportunity employer where women thrive in every role including scientific research. While we do not believe in hiring women for the sake of their gender, we provide the facilities and environment they need to ensure that they are enabled and empowered.

I believe that by neglecting the development of women, we will compromise the future of the nation. By investing in women and their education, we are investing in our present and future. This is a promise we need to keep.

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Turn Ideas into economic growth

In today's knowledge-driven economy, innovation is the prime driver of progress. India's ability to generate wealth and create social good will come to naught unless we monetise innovative ideas by unshackling entrepreneurship. For innovation to flourish, we need to fund ideas to take them to market. Without capital, even the most transformative ideas can die before they take wing.

India's economic agenda is being shaped to deliver high growth based on an innovation matrix that cuts across social and economic activity. This approach is expected to result in economic reforms and value-added products and services that are key drivers of India's progress. Whilst the strategy is sound, the process of implementation is pivotal to its successful outcome.

Financing the innovation ecosystem: What India needs is a national innovation ecosystem that puts in place a financing cycle: academia generate ideas, especially those based on science and technology, which are incubated to proof of concept through government-sponsored seed and incubation funding and then taken to market through businesses backed by venture funding. India's ecosystem is not only suboptimal but it also lacks a some enabling mechanisms that can help innovation germinate and take root.

Let's start with academia's role in generating ideas. While government funding supports this phase of the innovation value chain fairly adequately, it falls short in nurturing ideas and growing them to a proof-of-concept stage where business can intervene. The notion of incubating start-ups within academic institutes is still nascent. The regulatory reforms that permit researchers to unconditionally assume dual roles as academicians and entrepreneurs is yet to be fully implemented. Academic entrepreneurs have virtually built the entire US technology sector and are continuing to do so despite the economic recession. India urgently needs to emulate this aspect of the US innovation ecosystem.

It is when the proof of concept is taken to the market through a process of commercialisation, that venture funding makes the critical difference between an idea and successful business. Venture funding relies on a regulatory framework that encourages risk-taking. Today, venture funds in India typically steer clear of risk-ridden small business ventures, leaving a huge funding vacuum in the commercialisation process. Venture funding in the US, on the other hand, is at the heart of driving innovation to the market. A sobering statistic offers food for thought: Venture capital investments in India reached $658 million in 2010, a 19.8% increase over 2009, according to data collated by Venture Intelligence. Compare that with China where venture capital investments reached $5.4 billion in 2010, a 79% increase over 2009.

A secondary stock exchange: I strongly believe the disconnect lies in lack of access to capital markets. Technology companies that do not have revenues are not eligible under Sebi guidelines to apply for listing. Such companies are stuck in a loop in terms of availing venture funding: venture capitalists won't fund technology companies that don't provide exits to capital markets and capital markets are not available to such companies owing to listing regulations. Industry bodies such as the Association of Biotechnology-Led Enterprises (ABLE) have been pushing Sebi for differentiated eligibility criteria for technology, research and innovation-driven companies for several years to no avail. Unencumbered entry and exit will be the catalyst in taking innovation to the next level.

So, how do we create an enabling innovation ecosystem that enables entrepreneurs to propel ideas into a sustainable business that adds value to our economy? The only option is to set up a secondary stock exchange to allow technology-driven, revenue-less, innovative companies to access capital markets, emulating the role Nasdaq plays in the US for technology companies and London's AIM for technology companies in the UK. This will spur innovation and unleash an entrepreneurial avalanche that will transform the pace of value-added growth in the Indian economy.

Drip feeding innovation will not build a sustainable technology sector, nor will risk-averse investors build a credible innovation ecosystem. Innovation requires sustained capital infusion both by the government and private sector. Unless investors are willing to back innovation, it will not create a credible knowledge-led economy that delivers high value to the economy. This is the underlying rationale for a secondary stock exchange for technology/innovation-driven companies that do not generate revenues but drive value creation as they approach the market.

Beyond capital markets: The ecosystem must also facilitate curiosity-driven research across academia and business. India's diverse social and economic challenges provide a substrate for innovative solutions that can create innumerable business opportunities based on affordability and accessibility. The size of the Indian market adds to business opportunities. But the optimal financial model to catalyse innovation is missing.

The government has initiated the investment process through some financing mechanisms that cut across grants, seed and incubation funding. The private sector now has to bring in the next level of funding through venture capital and access to capital markets. We need regulatory reforms that enable the creation of another exchange to spur innovation. Ideas abound in India. The challenge is to monetise these ideas through successful ventures. Only then can India move rapidly up the value chain to achieve faster, more sustainable growth.