Coming soon: State Innovation Council

BANGALORE: With a mandate to formulate a roadmap for innovation, Karnataka -- the home for bellweather IT companies, reputed science and technology institutions and defence establishments -- will have a devoted State Innovation Counil soon.

The Prime Minister-appointed National Innovation Council (NInC) chairman Sam Pitroda has written to all chief ministers to take up innovation on a mission mode and catalyse an innovation ecosystem across sectors. Three prominent Bangaloreans -- Narayana Hrudayalaya founder Devi Shetty, Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw and Planning Commission member K Kasturirangan -- are part of the 17-member council.

At its first meeting last month, the NInC decided to set up a $1-billion Inclusive Innovation Fund -- likely to be renamed Bharat Nirman Innovation Fund -- to support innovations aimed at generating solutions for the bottom of the pyramid. A second fund will be directed towards five to six national challenges requiring innovation.