The newly set-up JSW chair in Innovation and Public Policy at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) is looking to collaborate with industry and innovators to address the gap in R&D spending by corporates, and strike a balance with technology purchase.
After delivering his first talk as the chair professor, IIM-A faculty Rakesh Basant said the chair, funded by Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Seel, will work towards qualitative transformation in industrial research and innovation in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Pune.
He highlighted the gap in the R&D spend by private sector companies, which leads to limitations in innovations. “This prompts technology purchase. Currently, Indian companies’ investment in R&D doesn’t exceed 1 per cent of their total revenues. The same is 6-7 per cent in the case of pharma companies,” he sai, after delivering a talk on ‘Exploring Linkages between Innovation and Public Policy: Challenges and Opportunities’ at the IIMA campus on Tuesday.
Basant also said the Chair will work towards creating a platform for advocacy and suggestions for modifications in the existing policies, to encourage innovation and R&D. “IIM-A is grateful to JSW for establishing the chair. The interaction of these two fields — innovation and public policy — offers enormous opportunities for meaningful and policy-relevant research and teaching,” said IIM-A director, Ashish Nanda.
Last year in July, JSW Steel had made a financial contribution upwards of ₹50 crore for setting up a School of Public Policy at IIM-A. This chair is in addition to their earlier contribution.
With this chair, IIM-A has named three professors to chaired positions — Nabard Chair in Agri-business, RBI chair in Economics and Finance and JSW chair in Innovation and Public Policy.