State institutions in India need to play a larger role in research, development, and innovation to achieve technological self-reliance and the goals of Viksit Bharat, according to Suman Bery, Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog. Bery emphasized the importance of strengthening state-level innovation systems and creating robust research and innovation clusters across states for India’s long-term growth and self-reliance. He highlighted the need for states to embed R&D as a core function of governance.
A national workshop on “Sustaining Innovation: Embedding R&D in State Institutions” was held at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology. The workshop aimed to bring together institutional leaders, planning secretaries, industry leaders, and senior officials to discuss ways to enhance India’s state-level innovation ecosystem. Maneesha Vinodini stressed the significance of collaboration among academia, government, and industry in shaping effective innovation policies at the state level.
Vivek Kumar Singh, setting the context of the workshop, noted India’s progress in research publications and patents but highlighted the need to bridge the gap in converting knowledge into practical products and socio-economic solutions. He underlined the essential role of states in expanding and sustaining the country’s science, technology, and innovation ecosystem. V K Paul emphasized the shift states must make from being mere implementers of central schemes to becoming co-creators of a resilient national innovation system.
Lalnilawma emphasized the importance of grassroots innovation, stating that such ideas, deeply rooted in society, often struggle to scale. He advocated for a transition from beneficiary-driven approaches to partnership-based public schemes to enable communities to actively contribute to innovation. The workshop attendees discussed embedding R&D as a continuous governance function to shape India’s innovation journey in the future.
