Gujarat Grassroots Innovations Augmentation Network

Incubating Innovations into

Enterprise: Experience of GIAN
Presentation by:
Dr. Vijaya Vittala, GIAN (North East)
Chintan Bakshi (GIAN West)

25th September, 2004

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Origin and Evolution

•First GIAN was set-up in 1997 in Ahmedabad with the
support of Gujarat Government, SRISTI, IIMA and later
NIF
•National Innovation Foundation (NIF) was set up in the
year 2000 as a recognition of the GIAN model and its
replication in the rest of India
•Subsequently GIANs have been set-up in Jaipur (for
North India), at IIT Guwahati (for North East) and three
GIAN Cells have been set up in South India
The ultimate objective is to develop capabilities to incubate
hundreds of grassroots technologies and traditional
knowledge into successful businesses all across the country
leading to an innovation led, high impact and sustainable
development

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The Golden Triangle of Creativity

Innovation

Investment Enterprise

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Major Activities and Domain

• Technology Incubation and Prototype
Development
• IPR protection
• Business Development and Technology
Commercialization

GIAN (West) – Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa

GIAN (N.East) – The Seven North Eastern States

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The Incubation Process Project

Closed
GIAN / Summer
NIF H B Network / GIAN NIF / GIAN / RAC Interns / Volunteers
No

HB
Network Grassroots PIC & Technical Technology Validation & Innovation Competitive Go / No Go
Innovations Documentation Assessment / PAS Benchmarking Decision
SRISTI

Direct
Micro Venture Innovation Fund Yes

Mass Marketing Commercial Pilot Scale Testing and Prototype Incubation &
Development IPR
Production Production Business Plan Protection

Entrepreneur / Innovator / Entrepreneur / Entrepreneur /

Entrepreneur / Innovator GIAN / Disha GIAN / NIF
NGOs / GIAN Brand (?) Innovator / PartnerInnovator / Partner
/ Consultants / NID etc. Summer Interns Patent Attorney
Incubators. Incubators.

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Status of Projects – GIAN (West)

Completed (16) Ongoing (15) New Projects (10)
Aaruni Bullock Cart Vanraj Tractor Seed Varieties
Pulley Motorcycle Ploughing Machine Pulse Thresher
Cotton Stripper Oil Expeller Automatic Thread Winder for
Motorcycle Sprayer Buttonhole Edging Machine Kite Flying
Kittanal Motor Protection Device Wind Operated Power Generator
Natural Water Cooler Small Diesel Engine Modified Blower for Air Curtains
Foot Sprayer Double Acting Reciprocating Jabbar Gear for Rickshaws
Kushal Sprayer Pump Kero Gas Stove
Eri Silk Innovative Application of Wind Key Way Making Fixture
Mill
Aaron Flywheel Motorized Sprayer (4.5 HP
Auto Compression Sprayer Tractor)
Fiber Optic Conduit
Coupler Herbal Formulations Button Stitching Machine
Gum Scrapper Dual Blade Sickle Projects Identified for Cross
Auto Air Kick Pump Innovative Tong Regional Applications (6)
Bicycle Sprayer Innovative Design of Check Dam Exercise cum Washing Machine
Bicycle Hoe (Kerala)
Electrically Operated Kerosene
Hand Driven Sprayer Stove Tile Making Machine (UP)
Matchsticks from Natural Fiber Milking Machine (Kerala)
Post Harvest Groundnut
Harvester (Rajasthan)
Tea Making Machine
(Rajasthan)
Shaver for Sheep (Rajasthan)

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Status of Projects – GIAN (West)

Incubation support extended 47

MVIF Investments made (nos.) 9

MVIF Investments made (Rs. Lacs) 3.13

Technology transfers undertaken 12

Enterprises set up 10
IPR Protection filed (total) 26
IPR protection filed (US) 6

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Organization Structure
GIAN Board (State Government, Industry and Academia)

Hony. Secretary (Prof. Anil Gupta)

Chief Innovation Manager

Technical Business
Development

Admn /
Accounts

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Case Studies
1. 10 HP Mini Tractor
2. Motor Protection Device
3. Buttonhole Making Machine
4. Motorcycle Driven Plough

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10 HP Mini Tractor
 Ideally Suited for small farmers •Market potential of 5000 mini tractors in
India
•Capable of performing all farm
operations except deep- •Approx. Size of market opportunities is
ploughing Rs.50 crore /annum

•Cost Effective
Target MRP of Rs.1.25
lakhs
Average fuel consumption
of 1 lit/hrs

•Simple design make easy to

maintain

•Custom designed transmission

unit (Integral type)

•Ergonomically & aesthetically

designed by NID

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10 HP Mini Tractor

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10 HP Mini Tractor
Some Major Highlights of the Project
The project team that managed the technology incubation process
comprised:
Innovator
Tractor consultant, taking care of the technology VA
NID for design inputs
GIAN for overall project coordination

The entire prototype development process was internally managed by

GIAN

Various large tractor manufacturers were approached for tech transfer at

early stage or for partnership in the proto development process, without
much success

The tractor was submitted for Commercial Certification testing at CFMTTI,

Budhni in May 2003

The final certification is still pending

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10 HP Mini Tractor
Key Questions

Is GIAN the right agency to project manage such high technology
incubation projects?

Can the process be optimized without the involvement of a professional

entrepreneur?

How easy is it to get entrepreneurs involved at an early stages for such

projects where the first prototype is crude? What can be the mechanism
for this?

On hindsight, how should the project have been managed?

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Motor Protection Device

The only one of its kind multi-
feature protection device
•Prevents motors from burn-outs
from 21 potential fault conditions
which can occur like:
Overheating
Dry run
Phase reversal
Voltage fluctuations
Provides earth protection and
auto starter
•Suitable for working with motors
from 3HP to 100 HP range
•Modular design, therefore ease in
customization

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Motor Protection Device

Some Major Highlights of the Project
The innovator had enquiries from a large number of farmers in and around his
village in Solapur

Given the strength of the technology and positive market feedback, MVIF funding
of Rs. 75,000 was made for pilot scale production and test marketing

•The project was executed by the innovator with the support of mentor in Pune,
Mr. Prakash Parkhi, who is also a small entrepreneur

•As of date, 12 units have been sold, 7 installed and another 12 units are likely to
be sold in the next few days

•The innovator also claims a number of enquiries from his village region

•2 interested small entrepreneurs wiling to buy the technology at this stage for
Maharashtra and AP on non-exclusive basis - inability / unwillingness to pay a “fair”
upfront valuation

•Large players like Crompton and L&T have been approached – but not with much
positive results

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Motor Protection Device

Key Questions

In technologies like these, what is the best way to capitalize, given:
The players who can pay well are not interested
The small entrepreneurs are not willing / unable to pay the value
upfront that would cover the “cost of incubation”
The fear of duplication and loss of IP if the gradual scaling up process is
adopted

•How can such technologies where the IP is essentially an intimate knowledge

of consumer needs which have been encapsulated in a fairly high tech
product?

•How can the efforts of the innovator be fairly rewarded in cases such as
these where the innovator has spent years in getting that intimate
understanding of consumer needs and careful selection of the appropriate
technology to satisfy that need?

•Can we depend on a primarily royalty driven revenue model?

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Buttonhole Making Machine

•Radically simple design
ensuring high degree of
maintainability

•Designed with the tailoring

business in mind

•Capacity of 100-120
buttonholes per hour

•Full shuttle mechanism with 96

stitches per buttonhole

•The technology is at incubation

stage and needs design and
technology value addition

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Buttonhole Making Machine

Some Major Highlights of the Project
•Extremely tough competition in the market from Japanese (Juki), American
(Brother and Singer) and now Chinese machines

•The competition is further compounded by the large scale availability of cheap

second hand “dumped” buttonhole making machines of the above brands

•The first prototype of the machine is very crude, though functional

•Significant refinement is required before the machine can be seriously pitched for
commercialization

•The crude model was shown to some large distributors of buttonhole machines,
branded and local manufacturers of sewing machines and Sewing Machine R&D
Centre (Ludh.) – all were negative

•The market research showed a need gap, especially in the tailoring business in
small towns and rural sewing clusters

•A project team was formed including the innovator and a small but high quality
workshop of spinning machines – TePP support available

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Buttonhole Making Machine

Key Questions

•Who will commercialize the machine?

There are no buttonhole machine manufacturers in India
The sewing machine industry is highly fragmented with proliferation of
local brands
Even the well known brands like Usha and Prakash are very low on
original R&D and technology

•Can there be commercial viability for the machine given the competition
from the second hand imported machines? Though these machines fill a
demand gap for a low cost machine, however, these machines are ultimately
designed for the garment manufacturing unit and not for the local tailoring
business

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Motorcycle Driven Plough

•Attachment which converts a •Immense market opportunity given the
motorcycle into a “mini-tractor” large number of bullet motorcycles
operational in villages of India
•Capable of doing agriculture
operations like:
Cultivating •Price of the attachment – Rs. 20,000
Ploughing
Spraying (with a special
attachment)

•Easy assembly and

disengagement - convertibility
time about 15 minutes

•A highly economical machine

for small farmers and ideal for
bullet owners

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Motorcycle Driven Plough

Major Highlights

•Innovator has sold more than 30 units in Saurasthra region

•NID has provided design inputs in the project and a new gear box has been
developed from TePP support

•Demos of the machine were held in the Pune region – though the demos
were not successful in and around the Pune but interest was generated for
the Baramati region

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Motorcycle Driven Plough

Key Questions

•How can this technology be capitalized, which is best manufactured at the

local level? Conducting only a couple of demos in Pune involved high efforts
and transaction costs.

•Can any existing network be tapped?

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Other Issues / Questions

•How can the spirit of enterprise be built across the value chain?

•How can the gap between the crude prototypes and the
entrepreneur be filled?

•How can we get entrepreneur partner at a very early stages? What

sort of entrepreneurs?

•Is there place for a private entity that works on the projects of
GIAN with the specific objective of “bridging that gap”?

•Could the diffusion of technologies like Motorcycle Driven Plough

happen more effectively in the presence of a local level business
ecosystem (innovation, enterprise, institutional linkages, mentors
strongly networked locally)?

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Thank You

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