Festival of innovation and entrepreneurship
Navneet Kumar Gupta
The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (FINE) and presented the Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 19, 2018.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that the vision of a newer and better India calls for meeting certain developmental milestones, some of these as early as 2022 – when we commemorate the 75th anniversary of our Independence. It focuses on building an inclusive and happy society, where every individual has the opportunity to realise his or her potential. An innovation society will be a goal for such an India. we must build an ecosystem for converting innovations into enterprises And an innovation culture will be a catalyst to help us reach that goal. This calls for revitalising every link in the innovation value chain. We need schools where children tinker rather than memorise and mug. We need work cultures where young talent looks up and questions – rather than looks down and nods. And of course we need the government to provide a facilitative environment.
The President said that innovations by themselves are not enough. We must also build an ecosystem for converting innovations into enterprises. This requires support for start-ups and for incubating young innovators. The concept of FINE brings the two wings of the bird of imagination together. We need to connect all the links of incubating innovations into enterprises by providing financial, mentoring and policy support.
This year’s Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship is remarkable in that the number of exhibits of grassroots innovations and technologies has almost doubled. Among other things, this indicates innovation opportunities in local communities across our country. With greater emphasis by the government on boosting the economy of communities dependent upon cultivation and processing of bamboo, medicinal and aromatic plants, a special section has been organised for showcasing technologies in these areas. Many of the communities dependent on bamboo live in tribal areas where poverty levels are high. New technologies for cultivation and processing can make a significant difference to their livelihoods.
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Similarly, a majority of the products based on medicinal plants depend on the extraction of bio-resources from our forests. For conserving bio-diversity and reducing pressure on forests, we have to encourage cultivation of these plants in close cooperation with industry.
The Festival of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (FINE)
The Festival of Innovation & Entrepreneurship (FINE) {previously known as Festival of Innovation FOIN)} is a unique initiative of the Office of the President of India to recognise, respect and reward grassroots innovations and foster a supportive ecosystem. Hosted in the month of March at The President's House, the FOIN has become a national celebration of creativity and innovation at and for grassroots.
This year it has been decided to organize Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (FINE) from March 19-21, 2018 at Rashtrapati Bhavan by the President's Secretariat in association with National Innovation Foundation-India and Department of Science & Technology. FINE, an initiative to recognise, respect, showcase, reward innovations and to foster a supportive ecosystem for innovators, is being organised by Rashtrapati Bhavan in association with the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and the National Innovation Foundation from March 19 to 23, 2018.
Integral to Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship will be an exhibition of innovations that will remain open for public viewing between 12:00 hrs to 17:00 hrs from March 20 to 23, 2018. Visitors can come through Gate number 35 of Rashtrapati Bhavan (near North Avenue). FINE is a celebration of country's Innovation potential, particularly those ideas which stem from grassroots level including the citizen at the last mile and also a reflection of the power of children's creativity.
FINE would provide platform to the innovators for building the linkages with potential stakeholders whose support can improve their prospects in coming years for the larger social good. It will also help in promoting lateral learning and linkages among the innovators to enrich the ecosystem for new India. It would also be a great opportunity to create awareness about the importance of various Ministries of Government of India attaches to their effort and participation in the FINE. It is imperative that India becomes a growth engine for the world and provides a new model of inclusive development by providing a large number of open technological and other solutions for the developing and developed world. In sync with the policies of the government of India, FINE will provide a window to the creative and innovative solutions for social development through grassroots innovations, student ideas and other technologies for agriculture, rural development, sanitation, health, women and child development, biotechnology and medical innovation for grassroots.
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Navneet Kumar Gupta is a science communicator working as a Project Officer (Edusat) in Vigyan Prasar-National institute of Science communication under the Department. of Science & Technology. Govt. Of India. He has deep interest in popular science writing for general public through Print and electronic media. Besides his twelve books, he has written more than 200 popular science articles. He has edited/authored/co-authored more than 10 books. He have been awarded six National Awards including Rajbhasha Award, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India He has had a long stint as Associate Editor, VIPNET news - a popular science magazine. You may contact him at - ngupta@vigyanprasar.gov.in