The world is at an unprecedented phase, driven by dramatic changes in technology, digitisation and science, where disruption is exponential. While a lot have been talked about the progress led by entrepreneurs and venture capitalists in the private sector, it is vital to dispel the myth that the public sector will be less innovative. In fact, a quick look at pioneering technologies, the space missions for instance, points to the government, and not the private sector, as the most decisive player in the innovation game. Now, efforts are on in the public sector, which had slipped in the last few decades to be future-ready and globally competitive.
Take the case of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The government-owned space agency is working on launching humans in space by 2022 as part of its Gaganyaan project. The initial plan is to send astronauts to the International Space Station and eventually, to the Moon. Every technology that ISRO develops for its first human mission owes its vision and funding to the State. Upbeat with the Centre’s recent approving of Rs 10,000 crore for Gaganyaan, ISRO chairman K Sivan said that “it is the Centre’s financial assistance that will help expedite our training programmes. The agency will use the money to develop technologies for its first human mission and begin working on larger programmes.” Whether the innovation will be a success within the stipulated time, however, remains to be seen.
Besides space technology, the government is taking baby steps to facilitate and finance innovation in other sectors too. Green energy is a great example. According to the Institute of Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, the country is looking at mammoth investments worth $500 billion to create renewable energy generation capacity of 500 GigaWatts (GW) by 2028, in addition to the $250 billion investment in grid expansion and modernisation required for uptake of green energy capacity.
The numbers are in sync with the government’s plan to achieve 175 GW of capacity additions from renewable sources. Between April 2017 and March 2018, the country added around 11,788 Mega Watts (MW) of renewable energy capacity. That’s more than double of the 5,400 MW capacity addition in the thermal and hydropower sectors in the same period. Notably, this is for the first time ever that India added more production capacity from renewable energy in a year than from conventional sources like coal, highlighting that it is the State finances that is playing an increasing role in the development of the next big thing: green tech.
According to Mukesh Kumar, director of the Steel Research and Technology Mission of India (SRTMI), the institution is in talks with an Australian University to turn towards greener methods of making steel as well as to bring in technologies that result in significant cost efficiencies. The institution is also investing in research and technology to create new grades of advanced and ultra-high-strength products in order to ensure sustainability as well as to move towards zero waste. SRTMI has been set up by the steel ministry as part of its plans to turn India into the world’s largest and most efficient steelmaker. While companies are focusing on R&D of existing products, in order to be globally competitive, they requires out-of-the-box thinking, which India’s steel sector lacks, Kumar said.
Echoing the sentiments, H Purushotham, CMD, National Research Development Corporation, said that “unless PSUs embraces innovation, they cannot survive”. The public sector today presents an opportunity like never before with the Central and state governments keen on easing bottlenecks and exploring new frontiers in technology for future needs.