Hemant Kumar

Central University of Gujarat · Department of Studies in Science, Technology and Innovation Policy

Purpose Grassroots innovations, developed by local people using locally available resources, have shown the potential to provide low-cost technological solutions to the problems faced by underserved consumers in the global south. This paper aims to link the concept of grassroots innovations to energy use in the context of India. Design/methodology...

there has been a significant paucity of representation of women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) on a worldwide scale. Women are more likely to be at a disadvantage than men due to the existence of gender prejudices as well as other social and cultural variables. this tendency is also present...

Over the last two decades, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners have focused on the innovations in the informal sector, particularly grassroots innovations (GI) from low-income countries. Such innovations' diffusion dynamics, however, are uncharted territory. As a result, this paper explores the diffusion of GI from India's informal sector....

The OECD is increasingly concerned about the concurrent decline in biodiversity and the challenge of maintaining economic growth as per the SDG norms. It is in this context that one of its forthcoming reports titled Mainstreaming Biodiversity possibly highlights how there remain potential risks and uncertainty of biodiversity loss even after transi...

This book explores the process of grassroots innovation in the context of the Global South. It explains why these bottom-up solutions developed by common people are generated due to a lack of available or affordable technology to meet their needs and how they are included in the mainstream imagination of the economy by studying these innovations in...

Regulating bio banks, particularly umbilical cord blood (UCB) banking, requires an appropriate governance framework, which is a debated issue both in general and specifically in India. The guiding principles specifically the ethical concerns of such governance are ambiguous. The responsible innovation (RI) concept has been increasingly integrated i...

In this post-truth moment, when the fields of Science, Technology, and Society (STS) and Science Communication Studies (SCS) are facing a number of challenges, it is difficult to comprehend how different knowledge systems may coexist. Knowledge from the informal sector, particularly grassroots innovations (GIs) in India, has captured the interest o...

Numerous societies have cultural and religious taboos, myths, and misunderstandings concerning menstruation, menstruators, menstrual hygiene, and the management of these issues. Despite the fact that menstruation is evidence that a person's reproductive health is in order and precautions must be taken to avoid health problems during this time. Mens...

Wildlife conservation endeavours aimed at safeguarding various wildlife species to sustain the harmonious cohabitation of human beings and wildlife species. The engagement encompasses a diverse range of stakeholders, including individuals with expertise in wildlife conservation, business professionals, government officials, politicians, members of...

In Manipur, fermented bamboo shoots (FBS) continue to be a staple traditional cuisine. Local amateur fermenters perform the fermentation process, and fermented food is produced as a result of the actions of non-human actors from the typical microorganisms of succulent shoots, including fungi and bacteria. The pre-operational process for the manufac...

In the first decade of the 21st century 'Science, Technology and Innovation Diplomacy (ST&ID)' has emerged as a key component of foreign policy, especially in western countries. Although it is important to note that this is not a new phenomenon, there are several instances in which such diplomatic initiatives have been part of foreign policy in the...

Tribal area development programmes in India are often a 'top-down' approach and neglect the knowledge and practices by the communities. This paper explores the dynamics of innovations, both formal and informal sectors, for the promotion of passion fruit (Passiflora sps.) in Nagaland as one of the key tribal area development projects. The study uses...

Science Diplomacy (SD) has emerged as a key component of foreign policy in the first decade of the 21stcentury. It provides an outlookto explore science and technology and diplomatic efforts in three distinctive perspectives namely 'science for diplomacy', 'diplomacy for science' and 'science in diplomacy'. However, one must note that this is not a...

Innovations in the formal sector are by and large motivated by extrinsic rewards. However, such motives are not explored much in the informal sector innovations. Using effectance motivation theories, some previous research on grassroots innovators in India has found that much of these innovations are initially driven by ‘intrinsic motivations’, whi...

Science Diplomacy (SD) has emerged as a key component of foreign policy in the first decade of the 21st century. It provides an outlook to explore science and technology and diplomatic efforts in three distinctive perspectives namely 'science for diplomacy', 'diplomacy for science' and 'science in diplomacy'. However, one must note that this is not...

United Nations (UN) in its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has kept Target 9.5 on science, technology and innovations (STI) and suggest achieving its goals by 2030. India is signatory to it and have also recognise the role of STI in the process of development and in mitigating the contemporary challenges of global nature. For instance, the glo...

Innovation research, representing other than the formal sector, has gained momentum in the last two decades and different terms like grassroots innovations, frugal innovations, jugaad, inclusive innovations and informal sector innovations are used. These key terms have specific and contextual meaning and represent different sets of innovations that...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the commercialisation mechanisms of the innovations that emerge from the informal sector of Indian economy. Also known as grassroots innovations, they are said to better fit with the local market demands and conditions in the developing nations of the world. The paper discusses the grassroots innovat...

Patents are considered to be the most authoritative rights which incentivise the knowledge producer. However, the current patent system is criticised by many scholars for favouring the formal sector industries of the economy having a large market and resources for commercialising their innovations. Today there are many innovations which emerge from...

The primary driver for innovations in the formal sector is credited to the institution of patenting. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) as the extrinsic motivational factor have supported innovations by firms and industries which have a large market and resources to commercialise their products. Grassroots innovations, on the other hand, represent...

Scarce resources, low-income level of consumers and cultural values drive innovators to resort to low-cost, local-centric idea of frugal innovations both in the formal and informal sectors. Such innovations are the outcome of complex processes and one needs to understand them in their context. We aim to explore the process of frugal innovations in...

Kumar, H. (2017). [Review of the book Grassroots innovation: Minds on the margin are not marginal minds by Anil K. Gupta]. Current Science, 112 (9). 1957-58.

Dr. Saradindu Bhaduri started his lecture with a description of a poem written by Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, The invention of shoes, and tried to identify the nature of such innovations, their relevance and social challenges these innovations face as was highlighted in the poem. Then he traced the innovation and development discourse of the l...

Conducted a two-day workshop on ‘Grassroots Innovations Networks’ on invitation of National Research Institute for Science Policy (NRISP), Tehran, Iran. (February 15-16, 2017).

By adopting Actor Network Theory (ANT) in the empirical context of Cymbopogon citratus Tea (CC Tea) in Manipur, this paper analyses the networks of key actors in the innovation process. Innovation happens when there is an interaction between actors, institutions and economic structures across the level of hierarchy. In this process, there has been...

In one of the most awaited books narrating the story of development of science and technology (S&T) in India in the post-independence era, Robert Anderson’s effort is commendable. This book maps not only the history of diverse efforts in the field of nuclear science in India, but also tells the social and political history of evolution of a strong...

‘Grassroots innovations’ in India are receiving increasing attention from innovation scholars and policymakers alike. These innovations are individual or community efforts to solve the problems faced in one's daily life. Moreover, rather than responding to any ‘potential market’ demand, these efforts are often geared towards satisfying one's own in...

Ironically, the phenomenal growth in the academic literature on innovation in recent years has omitted the innovative activities in the informal sector. There is no doubt that the informal sector occupies a key position in the economic activities of many of today's developing and emerging economies. In fact, the so called ‘new view’ on the informal...

Extrinsic motivations like intellectual property protections and fiscal incentives continue to occupy the centre stage in debates on innovation policies. Joseph Schumpeter had, however, argued that the motive to accumulate private property can only explain part of innovative activities. In his view, “the joy of creating, of getting things done” ass...

Extrinsic motivations like intellectual property protections and fiscal incentives continue to occupy the centre stage in debates on innovation policies. Joseph Schumpeter had, however, argued that the motive to accumulate private property can only explain part of innovative activities. In his view, the joy of creating, of getting things done assoc...