New Delhi, Aug. 16: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has approved the setting up of a National Innovation Council (NIC) under the chairmanship of Mr Sam Pitroda, telecom czar and adviser to the Prime Minister on public information infrastructure and innovations. An indication of the importance that’s being accorded to the area of innovation can be had from its composition.
The PMO has put together a band of men and women who are well-known in their respective fields.
So there’s Dr K. Kasturirnagan and Mr Arun Maira, both Planning Commission members, Mr Ramesh Mashelkar, former director-general of CSIR, Mr Kiran Karnik, former Nasscom president, Dr Devi Prasad Shetty of Narayana Hrudyalaya, Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairperson of Biocon, Mr Shekhar Kapur, film director, Mr Saurabh Srivastava, chairman of CA Technologies, Anil K. Gupta, professor IIM Ahmedabad, Ms Sujatha Ramadorai, professor, TIFR, Chandrajit Banerjee, director-general of CII, Mr Amit Mitra, secretary-general of FICCI, Mr Samir Brahmachari, director-general, CSIR and Sanjay Dhande, director, IIT Kanpur.
The NIC has been tasked with the job of preparing a road-map for the Decade of Innovation (2010-2020).
With this in mind, the NIC has been given the mandate to evolve an Indian model of innovation focusing on inclusive growth and creating an appropriate eco-system for fostering inclusive innovation.