"The need of the hour is to move R&D fast, which would mean a qualitative change in the attitude of research institutions. Publicly-funded research organisations, such as the CSIR, must do research in a business-like manner by drawing up business plans with a focus on generating funds for supporting the business of knowledge," Mashelkar said.

Knowledge is the primary requirement for modernising mindsets in India which happens to be a much more difficult task than modernising industries.

Explaining his vision on the knowledge era oftomorrow, Mashelkar said, "Each activity has to be focussed on knowledge. From the worker of tomorrow who will be the knowledge worker, to the war that will be fought in the knowledge market, it should be guarded more carefully than financial assets." According to Mashelkar, the "grey revolution" featuring the brain will be supported by other factors such as energy, environment, economics and ethics. Knowledge, he felt, would be useless unless backed by the creation of wealth and social good and be restricted to only a form of intellectual infrastructure.

On the larger issue of innovation, he pointed out that with respect to the larger missions, like the green or the white revolution, or space technology, India had fared well.

Here the business of innovation was a pre-requisite to competitiveness which would give the country a sustainable comparative advantage. This, he felt, was important when it came to exports. India's search for innovators must also transcend the barrier of size and reach the smallsector. "Grassroot level innovation is something that must be applauded and India has a world of opportunity to innovate with traditional medicines," said the director-general.

Also speaking at the noon session was JJ Irani, managing director at Tata Steel, who stressed the fact that modernising mindsets in India was more difficult than modernising industries. The Tisco managing director said that India had not achieved its potential as there was a paucity of human capital.