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Lessons from the Past 134: Where Do Innovations Go? - Part 2
Walter Vieira 08 August 2025
Economy & Nation
This is in continuation of the article I wrote earlier, where I expressed concern that many innovations reported in the Indian media –innovations with the potential to transform lives in this country (and sometimes far beyond) –simply do not see the light of day in the marketplace. For all of us, that is a great pity and a great loss.
 
I must confess that I personally don’t know any of these innovators and all this information is gathered from published reports in the media over the past few years.
 
Non-intravenous Chemotherapy: Dr Nitin Joshi has developed a technique where anti-cancer drugs are delivered in nanoparticles, but only when the right enzyme and pH conditions are present. For lung cancer, this can be used as an aerosol, and as an intravenous product for other cancers. This innovation reduces the quantity of drug required, which in turn lowers costs and cuts down on harmful side effects.
 
Carbon Dioxide Recycling: Anuradha Sharma and Prateek Bumb have developed a technology that uses a proprietary solvent to dissolve carbon dioxide from chimney gas effluents, followed by a catalytic chemical reaction under defined conditions. They recover the carbon dioxide, which is then sold to manufacturers of industrial gases and carbonated beverages –  giving carbon dioxide a second life rather than simply releasing it. The cost of the system, they claim, can be recovered within three to four years.
 
Ultra-low-cost Immunosensor: Dr Priyanka Chopra (not the actor) has developed an ultra-low-cost immunosensor for detecting environmental pollutants. Using a disposable plastic chip with nano-gold, this biosensor is dramatically cheaper than the current generation of sensors, which can cost anywhere from US$100 to US$600. This device can also be adapted for chemical diagnostics, apart from environmental use.
 
Location Tracking without GPS: Dr S Kannan has designed a ‘location tracking’ system that works without GPS, using cell tower triangulation instead. Verayu, as it is called, can pinpoint a user’s location in real time through an SMS or an internet request. A few companies are reportedly already testing this for tracking sales staff in the field. 
 
Implantable Diabetes Biosensor: Dr Abhijeet Joshi has developed an implantable biosensor for diabetes monitoring. This involves a matrix injected subcutaneously with glucose oxidase and a dye, which glows more brightly when blood glucose rises and is irradiated with 600nm light from an external device. The dye and enzyme last for several days, meaning no need for frequent injections and no side effects. The same biosensor could also be adapted to monitor lactic acid if required.
 
I travel a fair amount and am a frequent visitor to medical facilities on account of my age, or to visit my peers who are there on account of their age. But, despite these regular visits, I have not seen any of these devices in actual use. It makes me wonder if some of these brilliant ideas have been bought by businesses which feared competition to their own products, either because of higher efficiency, lower cost, or both.
 
Many years ago, I happened to visit a technical institute in Goa, where I met a young man in a laboratory who had come all the way from Madhya Pradesh. We spoke for a while and he explained how he had developed a small machine that could be attached to an irrigation pipe in the fields, diverting a little purified drinking water so farmers would no longer have to carry their own water bottles into the fields. They would have on-demand drinking water which was a huge improvement compared to their existing situation. 
 
I asked what he planned to do with this invention and he said he lacked the funds and the skills to market it. For him, it was simpler to sell the invention for a reasonable sum and move on to the next problem to solve – because that is what he was capable of doing. 
 
Is this, perhaps, the attitude of many innovators? I do not know. But it is worth exploring – for the benefit of those who invent and for the even greater benefit of those who would gain so much from using these innovations.
 
For me, hope lies in building the bridges between market enablers who understand both the tech and the customer. We must move beyond celebrating inventors to empowering them with marketers, funders, and distributors, to bring the innovations into homes, clinics, and villages, where they are most needed.
 
Because until these links are formed, tools like the ones I have mentioned in this article, as well as the one before won’t reach their full potential – and we’ll keep losing the chance to transform lives in our country.
 
I will end this short piece, again, with the words of Steve Jobs: “People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
 
Let’s help them do just that.
 
 
You may also want to read other articles written by the author. Here is the link https://moneylife.in/author/walter-vieira.html
 
(Walter Vieira is a Fellow of the Institute of Management Consultants of India - FIMC. He was a successful corporate executive for 14 years, capping his career as Head of marketing for a Pharma multinational, for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka- and then pioneered marketing consulting in India in 1975. As a consultant, he has worked across four continents. He was the first Asian elected Chairman of ICMCI, the world apex body of consultants in 45 countries, in 1997. He is the author of 16 books, a business columnist, international conference speaker and has been visiting professor in Marketing in the US, Europe, and Asia for over 40 years. He was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award for Consulting in 2005, and for Marketing in 2009. He now spends much of his time in NGO work - Consumer Education and Research Centre, IDOBRO, and some others.)
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