Dr. Gopichand Katragadda, MD, GE India Technology Center, believes that companies have to be far more patient with reverse innovation opportunities
B&E: GE has been a pioneer in applying a reverse innovation philosophy. How does GE prioritise vis-a-vis reverse innovation and glocalisation?
Dr. Gopichand Katragadda (GK): The progress of technology is great, and you need to leverage what has happened. There is no point in inventing everything. So I think this is where we falter in a big way. We talk of indigenisation, and we study for 30 years trying to catch up with where other countries have taken off. By the time you are there, other countries are 70 years ahead, because that is the pace of innovation. So you need to leverage what is already there and then move forward from there. For instance, a gas turbine is the same gas turbine and an aircraft engine is the same air-craft engine, whether it is designed for the western market or the Indian market. So why do I need to develop a new aircraft engine for Air India, or for any other airline? There is no unique need that is driving that. On the other hand, in the field of healthcare, TB is a need that only India can articulate the best, because we have an unresolved issue there. So who else should solve the problem other than those who are here on the ground? So let’s not worry about the aircraft problem and let’s solve the TB problem, where there is no solution in sight so far.
B&E: Could you elaborate on some more areas where the Indian market needs new solutions?
GK: Since we were discussing health-care, I’ll continue on that. I talked about TB. The information systems in India are not so robust. So when it comes to my insurance, I can’t go from one place to another, just quote a number and be set. So I should be able to carry a smart card that contains all my medical information and doctor’s advice. It’s a unique need that offers a lot of opportunities. When it comes to ultrasound, you cannot do a sex determination for the baby in India. But if you are doing an examination and you are smart enough, you can make a guess at some stage of the pregnancy. How do you mask the sex of the baby while providing all the clinical information for the doctor, is another unique area in India. Diabetes and cardio-vascular diseases might be there elsewhere, but we have a higher incidence of them. So talking about and working on obesity, these are some of the areas that India needs to work more on as we have a higher incidence of these diseases at a younger age. When you have a life span exceeding 80 years in US, it is unfair to compare that cardio vascular disease ratio with ours, because we are getting these diseases at the age of 50 or so and it is constantly moving down.
B&E: GE has been a pioneer in applying a reverse innovation philosophy. How does GE prioritise vis-a-vis reverse innovation and glocalisation?
Dr. Gopichand Katragadda (GK): The progress of technology is great, and you need to leverage what has happened. There is no point in inventing everything. So I think this is where we falter in a big way. We talk of indigenisation, and we study for 30 years trying to catch up with where other countries have taken off. By the time you are there, other countries are 70 years ahead, because that is the pace of innovation. So you need to leverage what is already there and then move forward from there. For instance, a gas turbine is the same gas turbine and an aircraft engine is the same air-craft engine, whether it is designed for the western market or the Indian market. So why do I need to develop a new aircraft engine for Air India, or for any other airline? There is no unique need that is driving that. On the other hand, in the field of healthcare, TB is a need that only India can articulate the best, because we have an unresolved issue there. So who else should solve the problem other than those who are here on the ground? So let’s not worry about the aircraft problem and let’s solve the TB problem, where there is no solution in sight so far.
B&E: Could you elaborate on some more areas where the Indian market needs new solutions?
GK: Since we were discussing health-care, I’ll continue on that. I talked about TB. The information systems in India are not so robust. So when it comes to my insurance, I can’t go from one place to another, just quote a number and be set. So I should be able to carry a smart card that contains all my medical information and doctor’s advice. It’s a unique need that offers a lot of opportunities. When it comes to ultrasound, you cannot do a sex determination for the baby in India. But if you are doing an examination and you are smart enough, you can make a guess at some stage of the pregnancy. How do you mask the sex of the baby while providing all the clinical information for the doctor, is another unique area in India. Diabetes and cardio-vascular diseases might be there elsewhere, but we have a higher incidence of them. So talking about and working on obesity, these are some of the areas that India needs to work more on as we have a higher incidence of these diseases at a younger age. When you have a life span exceeding 80 years in US, it is unfair to compare that cardio vascular disease ratio with ours, because we are getting these diseases at the age of 50 or so and it is constantly moving down.
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