Investment in Innovation Needs to be Scaled Up: Panellists at TMA Meet

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Investment in the country’s innovation ecosystem needs to be scaled up for enabling enterprises to tap into the opportunities being thrown up in key verticals including defence production and aerospace, panellists said at a session at the management conclave of Trivandrum Management Association (TMA).

Chairing the session on “It is all about innovation, success and growth”, G Levin, CEO KSPACE, said India has to bring in disruptive changes in its systems and processes to meet the global challenges. “We have to bring in innovation to our manufacturing and services sectors to forge ahead,” said Levin, who had a long innings in Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

Col Sanjeev Nair (Retd), CEO Technopark, said defence and aerospace sectors offered lot of opportunities for startups after the country started sharply reducing dependence on imports.

Though Kerala’s startup ecosystem ranks high in key parameters, startups in the state are yet to fully tap into the opportunities offered by the defence sector, Col Nair said.

Vimal Govind V K, CEO & Director Genrobotics Innovations, said the processes for resolving issues related Intellectual Property rights need to be simplified and fast-tracked.

Govind, whose company proved a trend-setter in robotics, said that AI integration is going to impact this domain in a big way, paving its way into all sectors. For example, in a timeline of 10 years, almost all homes in the state would have robots to carry out many physical tasks.

Lloyd Jacob Lopez, Director Hex20LABS, said India’s emergence as a global power has opened up lot of opportunities to innovate.

The startup revolution has resulted in a lot of youngsters becoming innovators and entrepreneurs, instead of job seekers. This has also brought about a change in the attitude of parents, many of whom used to discourage their children becoming entrepreneurs, Lopez added.