H-exponential change of Finsler metric

In this paper, we studied a Finsler space whose metric is given by an h-exponential change and obtain the Cartan connection coefficients for the change. We also find the necessary and sufficient condition for an h-exponential change of Finsler metric to be projective

Role of Intellectual Peoperty Rights in the Benefit Sharing Arrangements: The Case of Bio-resources Development and Conservation Program in Nigeria

The subject of this case study is the role of intellectual property rights in the benefit-sharing arrangements surrounding the work of the Bio-resources Development and Conservation Programme (BDCP) as a part of the International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) in the field of traditional medicine. In particular the role of patents, trade secrets and trademarks are discussed. The case examines, inter alia, a national patent and an "international" patent application under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), with claims over TK-based pharmaceutical inventions related to the work of the ICBG. Copies of these patents are attached in Annexes 3.4.3 and 3.4.4. Based on these examples, the availability of patent protection is identified as a key requisite for generating benefits to be shared with local practitioners of traditional medicine from pharmaceutical research based on their knowledge. The central role of a Trust Fund established by BDCP for sharing these benefits in monetary and non-monetary form is highlighted. The case study also illustrates the difficulty of balancing the input of various local stakeholders of TK and biological resources, such as traditional healers associations vis-�-vis local community representatives. This is a part of WIPO sponsored study on the role of intellectual property rights in the sharing of benefits arising from the use of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge.

Rethinking the Priorities for Indian Agricultural Research, Institutions and Policy: Learning from the Grassroots

Sometimes having succeeded in a mission, we fail because we tend to persist with the same strategy even when times have changed. The success, thus, becomes the reason for failure. Indian agriculture research has been an outstanding success in terms of achieving food self-reliance and converting a perennially importing country to an exporting country. But, the trend in the last decade has been disappointing and reasons are not far to seek. I will take this opportunity to reflect on the three decades of my engagement with the agricultural research community so that some new pointers can be identified. I will also share the lessons learnt from the grassroots innovators and traditional knowledge holders through Honey Bee Network activities in the last two decades. It is possible that some of my views cause discomfort. But, it is with great respect that I submit these ideas. The agricultural research community has always considered me as an insider and therefore the liberty that they have allowed me to take with the ideas. The interface of science and society, which has become a bit weaker in recent years, was taken as a matter of deep concern and commitment. It is a privilege for me to share my views in Dr B P Pal's memory. I hope to help in triggering some thoughts towards revitalisation of our institutions, policy making approach and our relationship with the common people and their creativity. Paper deals with mainly four issues, viz., (i) Managing genetic resources, (ii) Rethinking sustainability, (iii) Redesigning research organisations for sustainable, accessible and affordable outcomes and (iv) Ethical and institutional issues in agricultural research. The quality of education, development of entrepreneurial spirit, monitoring eco system health and developing longitudinal research facilities are some of the other important concerns in the Indian agricultural research system. When plant breeding got dominated by the practice of making selections in international nurseries and releasing varieties instead of painstaking seven to eight year breeding cycles of complex crossing programmes, the faster mortality of such rapidly released varieties was inevitable. The incentive systems for scientists unfortunately have not been upgraded and calibrated in a manner that social, professional and individual interests can converge. The organisational design does not let new forms of partnerships and networks to emerge. The current crisis in Indian agriculture is a consequence of the outdated policies and irrelevant organisational and institutional designs. There is no escape from major restructuring of agricultural research policy and institutions. I may be forgiven for being too critical at several places in my submission. Thousands of innovations and traditional knowledge identified from more than 500 districts have proved, if a proof was needed that Indian farmers, artisans, pastoralists and mechanics are extremely creative and engagement with them can not be avoided by institutional science for too long without inviting an unfortunate backlash.

Linking Vertical and Horizontal Markets for Innovations at Grassroots:Sustainability Imperative Sustainability Imperative

The supply chain management is at the core of globalising world. Today the large corporations are able to source materials from all around the world and sell it in the most interior parts of the developing and developed world. With the increase in oil prices, this model of globalisation is coming under strain. But there are some other challenges also facing the dominant globalisation model. The call to large corporations to look for the fortune at the bottom of the economic pyramid implied dipping into the limited purchasing power of the economically poor people. Assumption was that given the cultural bias in favour of poor emulating the lifestyle of the richer people (.Sanskritisation.), the possibility of selling products and services at affordable prices to the poor were immense. It did not matter if the market for locally produced goods and services got suppressed, creating a constraint for the growth of above model. Apart from the logistical issues in meeting scattered, small and uncertain demand in rural areas, the ethical and efficiency issues also did not get addressed. In this paper, I am challenging the viability of current model of globalisation. To me, unless sufficient space is created in global markets for grassroots products and services, the present model is just not sustainable. I would like to first discuss the emerging innovations at grassroots level which can help us think about new models for moulding markets at local, regional and global level. Later, one can better appreciate the logistical implications of integrating horizontal and vertical markets. Finally, I would like to speculate about the future shape of distributed, modular manufacturing for meeting local as well as global needs.

Empathetic Innovations: Connections across Boundaries

Several motivations may guide quest of a creative person for solving real life problems either faced by oneself or by others. Honey Bee Network has been documenting and valorizing grassroots innovations and traditional knowledge practices for over two decades. In this paper, I review some of the lessons emerging from the innovations triggered by a feeling of internalization of somebody else’s pain [samvedana] exactly as one’s own. The concept of empathetic innovations resonates with the Gandhian philosophy in a very intimate sense. Way back in 1924, Gandhiji had announced a prize of Rs. one lakh to improve the design of charkha [spinning wheel]. When burden becomes responsibility and when concern triggers creativity, we encounter Gandhian spirit in action. He was a great action researcher. In the first part, I summarise the journey of Honey Bee Network, the evolution of SRISTI (Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions) on the advice of Policy and Perspectives Committee of IIMA, and establishment of Grassroots Innovation Augmentation Network (GIAN) as a follow up of International Conference on Creativity and Innovations at Grassroots held at IIMA in 1997. Later, NIF (National Innovation Foundation) was set up with the help of Department of Science and Technology in 2000 to build a National Register of Grassroots Innovations and Traditional Knowledge besides bridging formal and informal science. Recently, the NIF has become a grant-in-aid institution of DST. Nine key issues discussed in the paper to amplify the concept of empathetic innovations are: Why does not adding value to people’s knowledge and creativity excite majority of young and old institutional scientists?; Does wealth necessarily improve the propensity for risk taking and innovation or the lack of it, i.e., can poverty also be a trigger for innovation? Is frugality fungible?; Whether the nature of motivation influences the incentives or disincentives for diffusion?; Should national science, technology and innovation system be fertilized by the grassroots innovations in a fundamental manner?; Do Gandhian methods still matter? Why did Gandhian institutions fossilize in the last six decades?; Will Incorporating innovations in the curriculum not trigger creativity early in life?; Will creating mobile and stationary museum of innovations help in transforming the minds? and Will Gandhian advice to youth for social engagement be still valid?

Agricultural Education for Entrepreneurship, Excellence and Environmental Sustainability: Agenda for Innovation and Change

Having been a product of Agricultural University, I understand and empathize with the leaders of the universities about the problems they face. However, let us accept that the standards that were set decades ago can indeed be surpassed if only we would challenge the students to bring out the best in them. My one line summary of the problem is that we are not challenging the future leaders of our discipline strongly enough. Is it because rise in their expectations will create a stress on us or is it that we have learnt to be helpless? Isn’t it ironic that in almost no agricultural university, a graduate or postgraduate is not required to take any course in entrepreneurship? The universities seem to be locked up in the paradigm of seventies.

Ethical Issues in Accessing Peoples Knowledge and Innovations: Need for Revisiting Research Protocols with Specific Reference to Low Cost Health Technologies

There is a widespread concern all over the world about the emerging tensions in the local, regional and global dialogues on relationship between formal and informal knowledge systems. It is realized that the basic social contract between knowledge producing communities and the knowledge valorizing corporations and professionals needs redefinition. Several professional societies have incorporated discussions on ethical issues in accessing knowledge, innovations and practices of local communities involving use of local biodiversity resources. The situation becomes even more complex when we realize that the healthcare needs of large majority of poor people still are met by their own survival strategies dependent upon use of local knowledge and resources. It is obvious that this knowledge is precious and can generate viable and productive alternatives valued by modern markets. At the same time, it is also true that if this knowledge was sufficiently robust as it stands, the local health conditions would not have been as precarious as these often are in many regions because of nutritional and other economic hardships. The linkage with formal science and technology is therefore vital. The paper deals with four issues: (a) what can we learn from the analysis of a country wide campaign in India on documenting more than 30000 local health traditions maintained by communities and individuals, (b) whether the health priorities and the options for addressing them require new technological and institutional paradigms, (c) how can new partnership between people, professionals, public policy makers and profit-oriented corporations be conceptualized so that not only benefits are shared fairly but also the knowledge systems grow and thrive and (d) what should be the ethical code of conduct guiding the knowledge exchange, value addition and benefit sharing for generating viable health options for knowledge rich, economically poor people. The paper would thus provide an overview of the global debate on this subject and also suggest how an ethnobotanist can become the watchdog of, as well as the advocates for, the interests of healers, herbalists and other traditional knowledge rich communities.

Pedagogical Innovations for Triggering Social and Economic Entrepreneurship among Youth

Recent economic meltdown triggered worldwide search for viable options for generating employment through entrepreneurial opportunities for the youth. Not many countries succeeded although India has fared much better. I discuss the challenges faced by India soon after meltdown and the strategies that could work. While many ideas have still potential to influence the pedagogy and the content of educational programmes in the short term, some have value for longer term entrepreneurial revolution. I pay particular attention to converting grassroots innovative communities into viable entrepreneurial networks. The need for empathetic innovation eco system cannot be over-stressed. I also underline the fact that ethical standards seem to be higher among micro and small and medium enterprises. There is a need for transition from mass consumption to high degree of customisation.

Grassroots to Global: Online Incubation of Grassroots Innovations based Enterprises

The dominant model of globalisation creates considerable anxiety and stress in the minds of small-scale entrepreneurs and civil society organisations. In this model, choices for small entrepreneurs are very limited. The model assumes a kind of one-way street. The self-employed small-scale entrepreneurs must give way for the large capital to dominate the market space. The proposed Grassroots to Global (G2G) model is aimed at reversing the dominant trend. It aims at carving out space for grassroots innovators in the global markets. A recent conference in China bringing the collaborators from Brazil, India and China besides representatives of 15 other countries further stressed this point.