How close is India to having a National Innovation Policy?
We have been in talks with Ministry of Science and Technology and Department of Information Technology to work out a framework jointly with the Confederation of Indian Industry to drive innovation in India. We would expect the mandate to come through this year for us to work on a detailed report on the lines of the National Innovation Initiative in the US, that is a part of President Bush’s American Competitiveness Council. From the time we get the mandate, the exercise would take about nine to ten months. The report will go a long way in formulating the agenda for India’s innovation blueprint.

What sectors in India can drive innovation?
India is primarily a services economy and that is where it holds the greatest promise for innovation — not just in terms of creation, discovery or invention but in creating processes, business models, cultural and societal value adds. It is a country well-positioned to ride the innovation wave with its clever and innovative workforce.

Till there is a concrete policy on innovation in India, how is IBM generating traction to prepare for the right innovation ecosystem?
If one of the major focuses for innovation will be around the services sector, we would clearly need more skilled people to come out of the educational system to man this revolution. We are working on a report to understand what we could do in India to come up with a degree in services that could become a differentiator for India. The report will be out by June and would give IITs and other universities a direction to be innovative about their curricula.