The partnership of Agilent Technologies, Department of Science & Technology (Government of India) and Confederation of India Industry is back to launch the third season of the nationwide innovation competition for all innovators after the success of the India Innovation Initiative (i3) last year.
Last year, the scale of the event had been expanded to cover a wider spectrum of industries including water, transportation, energy, environment, internal security applications and education among others. There was also a wider geographical spread of the initiative last year, by organizing the preliminary selection rounds through four regional fairs in four regions. This resulted in wider participation from far-flung areas of the nation.
In 2009, the total number of entries for i3 was around 250. By expanding the spread in 2010, this number went up to nearly 1000. With a robust structure in place, i3 wants to spread the message of innovation deeper into the country and encourage all to come forward and participate.
Parmeet S. Ahuja, President & Country General Manager, Agilent Technologies India said, "We continue to be proud bearers of Agilent's mandate to spread the innovation temperament in our local geographies. Last year, we received nearly four times the entries from 2009, so we know that our efforts are being seen and felt. This year, we want to keep that structure intact, but execute better and be more impactful. The more people get aware of this platform's existence, the more they will come forward, and our efforts have to be to facilitate that spread with the proper support."
Dr. Bhanu Pratap Singh, Head, National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC) Department of Science & Technology said, "Innovation is key to economic development. Â Growing challenges like providing for an enormous population, mammoth devastation caused by natural calamities and the increasing global competition in a liberalised era, call for a highly productive and innovative ecosystem. Merit and competition are engines for viable innovations. The young population has the capability to provide out of the box solutions to problems of daily life with the help of Science and Technology. i3 plays a crucial role in this endeavor."
Dr. Naushad Forbes, Chairman, Innovation Council, Confederation of Indian Industry said, "CII, through its emphasis on - Business for Livelihoods" a theme adopted consecutively 2011 and 2012, is committed towards developing innovation and entrepreneurship in India in a sustainable manner. Keeping in line with its commitment, this year's i3 (India Innovation Initiative) focuses on strengthening Indian specific innovation ecosystem by bringing greater number of incubators and investors on board. This scale up of the initiative will substantially boost mechanisms to facilitate Innovative Indian minds and help them accrue more support for commercialising their innovations. This is a significant step forward from the previous years and will generate greater impact towards creating new ventures and start-ups."
