Annual National Business Summit, 'Building India Inc', Successfully Concludes at DMS, IIT-D

Annual National Business Summit, 'Building India Inc', Successfully Concludes at DMS, IIT Delhi
Post-event Press-release

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The first speaker for the session was Mr. Parikshit Sharma, Vice President, Business Development, Lifestyle Stores. The talk began with a video showing eminent personalities who, through a belief in self and the ability to take charge, made it big in

their life. "If bureaucracy and politicians would change, we can build a resilient India," he said, adding that it is upto the people themselves to take charge. He quoted many examples of innovation in India, and said that success is a realistic time-bound plan of action.

The next speaker, Mr. Brijesh Kapil from Ranbaxy Global Consumer Healthcare, asked the 'chicken or egg' question, "Do developed countries have high GDP because of innovation, or is innovation possible because of high GDP?" He said that in India, the focus of pharma companies is to provide better and affordable medicines than to make variants for existing medicines. To serve in India, one just needs to deliver the best with the available competencies. However, to be globally reckoned, one needs to innovate. Stress was laid on the importance of a common innovative infrastructure and collaborative systems with international giants.

Mr. Salil Agrawal from ECS Ltd. was the next speaker. He said that innovation could be creating something entirely new or changing the way things are done. While product quality is important, consistent quality assurance also plays an important role. Quality provides a framework to help take an idea to a practical outcome. He said that the main challenges in India are lack of processes to convert an idea to a product and continuous improvement. He said that R & D is not an end in itself. He put forward an action plan for India Inc., which includes developing quality consciousness, thinking about process and process variance, and removal of the 'chalta hai' attitude.

The last speaker of the session and the day, Mr. Rajeev Chak, Head of CNG, Adani Energies Ltd., spoke about the cultural issues that prevent or slow down innovation in India. "We wait till the last moment for some miracle to happen, and discourage people from thinking." He also said that innovation solves the problem, while quality sustains the solution. Business innovations are more driven by public demand than by scientific discovery, he said, and added that innovation was not the privileged practice of a special group. In India, innovation has occurred everywhere, not just in R & D departments.

The session was then thrown open for questions, where traditional innovation and venture capital were discussed at length. The session came to an end with Prof. Sushil thanking all the esteemed guests and presenting mementos. This was how the first day of Building India Inc. came to an end raising several questions in the minds of one and all attending it regarding the future and scope of progress in India.

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Contributed by -
Richa Gulati,
Member, Industrial Interaction Committee,
Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi.

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