India reports 175,000 innovation projects

India has recorded 175,000 innovation practices in the last few years, and focus is now to take these to the common people, a top official said here Wednesday.

"India has captured a grassroots innovation system through formal structure like the National Innovation Foundation (NIF)," T. Ramasami, secretary in the department of science and technology, said at the Global Innovation and Technology Alliance Platform (GITA).

The NIF started functioning in March 2000 as India's national initiative to strengthen grassroots technological innovations and outstanding traditional knowledge.

He said the Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STI) 2013 of India is outward-looking and reflects the aspiration to be able to globalise in the innovation space.

"It brings the innovation space to centre-stage through which best global practices could be suitably adapted in the Indian context," he said.

The secretary said the government is also looking to address innovations at five different levels -- grassroots, individual, institutional, industrial and investment.

GITA is a not-for-profit public private partnership company promoted jointly by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Technology Development Board (TDB) under the department of science and technology.

The objective of the platform is to facilitate technology partnerships between Indian industry and its counterparts in other countries to develop new and affordable products and services in diverse areas.