Innovation Is More About Creating And Bringing A Change In The Mindset Of People, Says Amit Malik, Cisco India & SAARC

Speaking at BW Businessworld 4th Digital India Summit & Awards in New Delhi on Friday (18 May), Amit Malik, Managing Director, Public Sector & Services, Cisco India & SAARC said that in a complex country like India where we have such a huge demography with diverse people from different states, cultures, so the idea of innovation gets complex. However, at the same time, we have a huge intellectual capital, which is the highest in the world.

Innovation is more about creating change and bringing about a change in the mindset of people, said Amit Malik, Managing Director, Public Sector & Services, Cisco India & SAARC at BW Businessworld 4th Digital India Summit & Awards in New Delhi today.

"It is not the lack of ideas, but the lack of collective ideas and the collective execution of these ideas is the problem. The longevity of an idea is very small." Stated Malik.

Talking about the important questions that need to be asked and the required solutions, Malik said, "How do we ensure these ideas are replicated fast? How should we make these ideas executable in a collective fashion? And most importantly why do we need innovation? The answer is that technology should really make an impact and help us in cutting costs. There are multiple areas where innovation is happening such as transportation, safety and security and women empowerment."

Citing the future, he said that electric cars will become cheaper than the petrol/diesel cars in the next few years. True progress is when everyone moves forward. Our villages and small towns need to grow as fast as our cities, and if that does not happen then there will be constant migration, burdening our cities which would not be healthy.

Examples of technology disrupting across verticals are the digitisation in rural education, water utilities and blockchain in the agriculture sector. In the next few years, completely automated distribution system using IIoT and blockchain in the agriculture sector will completely transform it.

Concluding his remarks, Malik affirmed, "Technology has become a very important driver in driving innovation today. It can not only help build a smart nation but rightly leveraging our intellectual capital can make a smarter nation."