SparX by Mukesh Bansal R&D Scientist : India is 25 years Behind China! We should wake up | SparX
Aug 30, 2025
Shivkumar Kalyanaraman, CEO of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, is on a mission to transform India’s research landscape. He discusses the urgent need for India to innovate rather than merely adopt foreign technologies. With plans to unlock substantial funding for R&D, he emphasizes collaboration across sectors. The conversation spans critical areas like AI, quantum tech, and energy, while Kalyanaraman shares insights from his own journey as an inventor with over 75 patents. A wake-up call for India's innovation future!
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From Academia To Industry To Government
- Shivkumar describes moving from academia to industry and then into government after being asked to apply for the role.
- He highlights his dual academia-industry background as the reason he can bridge collaborations effectively.
Dual Capital To Cover The Full TRL Funnel
- ANRF pools grant and patient capital to cover the full research-to-product spectrum.
- The government provides seed grants while catalyzing larger private investments for scale.
TRL Is A Useful But Imperfect Map
- TRL is useful but overly linear; real innovation rarely follows straight stages.
- Pair TRL thinking with market and product-market-fit signals to avoid building tech no one wants.