Atmanirbhar Bharat can be created by having confidence in indigenous technology: Raghunath Mashelkar

Padma Vibhushan Dr Raghunath Mashelkar, Chairperson of Governing Council of Marico Innovation Foundation and Jury chair, talks about Innovate2BeatCOVID Challenge and self-reliant India (Atmanirbhar Bharat) during an exclusive interview with Swati Khandelwal, Zee Business. Edited Excerpts”

Q: Innovate2BeatCOVID Challenge was launched by Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico, on March 29, 2020, to find who can create the efficient ways fight COVID-19 and solve the shortage of PPE kit, ventilators and respiratory solution to fight with COVID-19. Tell us about the thought process behind the idea and was response better than expectations? 

A: Yes, it was much better. We got around 1,500 interests in just two weeks time and I never thought that this much interest will come for it. Out of those, we received 600 applications, and then they were shortlisted. We had a jury constituted of eminent experts from India like Professor Nirmal Kumar Ganguly, former Director-General of (ICMR). Then at the intervention stage, we had exports like Dr Arjun Alva and Dr Dilip Karnad to look at how they are used at the ICU. We also had Pulmonologist like Dr Ashok Mahashur, who understands what happens with the lungs in the jury. Apart from these, we also had manufacturing experts like Milind Shah, former MD of Medtronic India, to ensure that there were no deficiencies in production. After this, a detailed evaluation and due diligence by Advisors Praxis Global Alliance helped us in shortlisting and finding different winners in Personal Protective Gear (PPE) and Ventilators. The winner of PPE solutions has been awarded, while the winner of the ventilators segment will be awarded by next week.

Just as we are the Marico Innovation Foundation and that's why innovation is very important for us. I usually say that ‘I in India should not stand for imitation or immigration but it should stand for Innovation.’ And in the process, we looked at what is innovation in it and what is new and unique in it, Secondly, it is being done for India that’s why we also looked at affordability and quality/excellence. It should be scalable and sustainable. These criteria were followed in the screening process after which three awards were announced in the PPE segment. Remaining awards will be announced next week.

Q: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also called for developing an AtmaNirbhar Bharat through innovation and technology and I think we are moving in the same direction. What is your view on the challenges that India has on the technology front and what can be done to encourage it?

A: I fully agree with the Prime Minister’s call of being an Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India). I would like to say that self-confidence and trust is required for the creation of an Atmanirbhar Bharat. We see that these young start-ups have dreams and they imagine and create new products. So, they should be supported and encourage, it is essential. Their ideas should be encouraged in the same manner as we do with seed and water them to turn them into a big tree. They should be supported at the very initial stage. I term Venture Capital as Adventure Capital. Taking risks is essential. Mr Harsh Mariwala and Amit Chandra in their personal capacity have come together to put Rs 2.5 crore and called for supporting the best innovation. They said just warding is not going to work but it should be supported in a way that it benefits the country as well as the society and we have done that. I have seen that we import things from China like PPEs, we were importing around 70% of PPEs from China but just in two months we have prepared ourselves in a way that we can export PPEs and this is our self-confidence.

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Similarly, you would have seen that 10 lakh diagnostic kits were imported from China, which failed after which its usage was closed by the ICMR and cancelled the orders of 5 lakh more kits. Was it needed, when we can make them within the country? As we have seen that the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology have developed CRISPR Cas9 technology and developed paper strips to identify the COVID-19, which has reduced the test cost to Rs 500 from Rs 4,000-5,000. So, this is our strength and that’s why I say that Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) can be created when there is confidence in our technology.