Class: Degree 1st year
Sem: Degree 2nd Sem
State: Telangana
Sem: Degree 2nd Sem
State: Telangana
Subject: ENGLISH
Lesson: HOW THE CORONA VIRUS SPARKED A WAVE OF INNOVATION IN INDIA
About the Author:
Sreevas Sahasranamamam studies pioneers and entrepreneurs who take on significant difficulties, particularly in nations that are developing, as well as the institutional elements that influence their work. He is the director of the University of Strathclyde's (Glasgow, Scotland) doctorate training centre for socially progressive innovation and entrepreneurship. He also works with the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) UK team. In addition to teaching at the Strathclyde Business School, he oversees projects related to technology commercialization. The essay that follows was composed in April of 2020.
HOW THE CORONAVIRUS SPARKED A WAVE OF INNOVATION IN INDIA SUMMARY
India's innovators and entrepreneurs have risen to the challenge presented by the COVID-19 pandemic with remarkable speed. In recent weeks, a plethora of new technologies have surfaced, some originating from start-ups that have received university incubation.The urgency of the humanitarian issue and the government's proactive attitude to crowdsourcing ideas are two of the reasons for the prompt response. India is also home to a large pool of highly skilled engineering people and promotes Jugaad, a thrifty innovation culture that looks for creative solutions to issues with little funding.
Ventilators, Robots, and Apps
The expressions of the global response to COVID-19 have been social distance and contact tracing. How to stop the virus from spreading in public areas like bus stations and airports will be especially important when lockdowns start to loosen. Hand sanitiser and public health messaging about the virus are being distributed by robots stationed at office buildings and other public place entrances by Asimov Robotics, a Kerala-based start-up.Asimov-created robots In order to relieve the strain on medical workers, robotics is also being used in hospital isolation units to provide food and medication.
Aarogya Setu, a COVID-19 tracking app, was released by GPS and Bluetootment in early April. It uses Bluetooth and GPS to alert users when they could be exposed to COVID-19. The app was released ahead of a comparable project from digital behemoths Apple and Google.
Startups like KlinicApp and Practo are using their platform to offer COVID-19 testing that can be done at home and to connect patients with doctors virtually. Startups like Nocca Robotics, Aerobiosys Innovations, and AgVa Healthcare are creating affordable, user-friendly, and portable ventilators that can be used even in rural areas of India in response to the scarcity of ventilators for critical care. These companies are incubated at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur. Before these ventilators could be used, medical regulatory permission would be required.
Another notable area of innovation is the cleanliness of public areas. Startups like PerSapien and Aqoza Technologies assert that they have created chemical compositions that sanitize public areas. During the 2018 Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala, Aqoza developed a water-based sanitiser disinfection called "Airlens Minus Corona." Meanwhile, PerSapien claims to have developed a machine called "Airlens Minus Corona" that sprays ionized water droplets to oxidize the viral protein.
Startups like Marut Dronetech have collaborated with state governments to test the application of drones for social distancing compliance monitoring. Additionally, drones are being utilized to transport medical supplies and even employ thermal imaging to take people's temperatures.
CONNECTING PEOPLE
In response to COVID-19, my discussions with a few of these Indian entrepreneurs and innovators have shown an excellent illustration of the triple helix model of innovation, which integrates efforts between universities, industries (start-ups), and the government. Two other enabling characteristics are especially important, even if the lifeblood of these breakthroughs is the active involvement of engineering volunteers from universities and businesses.Initially, the organizations acted as middlemen and mediating disputes between the three groups. To map start-ups' technologies connected to COVID-19, for example, the Department of Science and Technology of the federal government has established a task force. Moreover, it finances startups that create pertinent inventions like quick virus tests.
The Kerala Start-up Mission (KSUM), a government-supported organisation that promotes entrepreneurship, is another illustration. It started programs like "Breath of Hope," which unites a multidisciplinary volunteer group of physicians, biomedical engineers, and IT specialists to create cutting-edge medical technology. KSUM includes startups like QKopy and Asimov Robotics.
CROWDSOURCING IDEAS
Second, crowdsourced platforms have shown to be a valuable means of combining the knowledge of the public, private, and academic sectors. On March 16, the federal government announced the COVID-19 solution challenge, which asks creative thinkers to submit concepts and fixes for combating the pandemic. To create non-medical COVID-19 alternatives, industry bodies like the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry worked together in an online hackathon.
Within two days of their inception, BreakCorona and other similar start-up incubators' crowdsourced platforms got 1,300 ideas and 180 product proposals. As part of an additional initiative, volunteers have created the online crowdsourced portal known as Coronasafe-Network. This platform is public and open source and provides real-time information about COVID-19 precautions, tools, and reactions. It can be considered a helpful starting point for innovators.
For India to lead the next wave of innovation in the fight against COVID-19 and for the country's socioeconomic recovery once lockdown restrictions start to lift, it is imperative that the country maintain and strengthen its entrepreneurial mindset.
