At the 123rd GRIPS Forum on May 9, 2016, Dr. Sunil Mani, Professor of GRIPS; Professor of Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, Kerala, India gave a lecture titled “The High Tech Innovator vs The Frugal Innovator, Comparing China and India on Innovation Activities”.

Please click here to see the video of the Forum.

You can also see the summary of his address.

Abstract

China and India are the fastest growing countries in the world. Employing conventional indicators of innovation such as patents, it can be shown that both countries have become much more innovative over the last two decades or so. China has become a world leader in certain areas of high technology such as telecommunications equipments whereas India has become a hub for a number of frugal innovations. The lecture contrasted the innovation activities in these two countries. 

Speakers’ Profile:

Dr. Sunil Mani is Professor at the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum, Kerala, India and is now Professor of the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. Earlier he has been a visiting professor at Bocconi University, Milan, Italy, the University of Toulouse-Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Kolkata, India and has also worked at the United Nations University- MERIT, Maastricht, The Netherlands as a researcher and head of graduate studies. He is specialized in the economics and policy studies of innovation and one of his most recent publications include a book with Professor Richard Nelson of Columbia University, TRIPS Compliance, National Patent Regimes and Innovation, Evidence and Experience from Developing Countries, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, Mass, USA., 2013.

He holds a PhD in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and has done post doctoral research at University of Oxford.