Smart Innovations - KPIT

ContentsEditorialGuest EditorialMr. A. SriniwasEditorialDr. Vinay Vaidya23Profile of a ScientistBook ReviewArticlesDr. Raghunath Anant MashelkarRakesh RaoReverse Innovation: Create Far from Home, Win EverywhereMayurika ChatterjeeInnovations: Then and NowPriti RanadiveImpacting LivesShilpa Kauthekar and Rajaram PatilConserving for TommorrowAmeeta MenonConnecting the MassesShilpa DhavaleReusing to RecreateAditi AthavaleEmerging ‘Bricks’Reena Kumari BeheraReversing the FlowPranjali Modak1925481420263036TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 1

Guest EditorialDear Friends,“Nothing endures but change” – Heraclitus (535 BC to 435 BC)Mr. A. SriniwasVice President - Vehicle SystemsMahindra & MahindraPune, IndiaAs you all are aware change is natural and industry understands the deeprooted meaning entrenched. To survive and grow in business, continualchanges to gratify the latent aspirations of the customers is a must.Customers are always inquisitive towards advanced and novel features. Thesuccess in harnessing the market potential depends highly on the rate atwhich an organization can surpass the changing customer expectationscontinuously.Concept of “Brand Loyalty” is witnessing a declining trend as customerspredominantly prefer products based on “VALUE FOR MONEY”. On theother hand increasing aspirations demand products of higher functionalitiesand features. As a consequence, cost of the product increases leading toreduced market success.So as to stay competitive and sustain in the market, manufacturers need tooffer higher value at a lower cost. The weapon to tackle this conflicting needis what I would like to call as “Frugal Innovation”.Amongst the numerous technological achievements from Mahindra whichare frugal and innovative, I would like to mention here the path-breaking andrevolutionary micro-hybrid technology. Mahindra's Microhybrid technologyhas been offered at an exceptionally lower price as compared to the offeringsat developed countries. Today we have more than 2,00,000 micro-hybridsrunning on roads leading to a reduced carbon foot print.I would like also to mention that while making the solutions frugal, onus is onthe manufacturers to ensure that the robustness is not compromised. I wouldlike to conclude “Frugal without Compromise” is the winning mantra for thefuture and a simple make shift solution may not sustain in the competitivemarket.I wish readers all success.Srinivas A"You can't just ask customers what they want and then try to give thatto them. By the time you get it built, they'll want something new."-Steve Jobs2TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

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Innovations: Then and NowAbout the AuthorPriti RandiveCREST,KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd.,Pune, IndiaAreas of InterestOS, RTOS, Parallel Computing,Embedded Systems and TRIZTechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 5

I. IntroductionMost of us who have seen the movie “Life ofPi” would agree that the movie is all aboutsurvival. The protagonist Pi is confused aboutwhich religion to follow but when it comes tosurvival, he finds his own ways to do so. What Iliked most about this movie was Pi useswhatever is available to him of the wreckedship. He uses his available resources to makea fishing rod, uses the whistle he has to tamethe tiger. Now that is what we can call frugalliving or innovation. Frugal innovation may beany out-of-the-box or common sense solutionto solve a complex engineering problem orany problem in our daily lives.cooking oil. The husk of the coconut fruit isused for cleaning dishes; it is also used as coirfor making mats and ropes. People earn theirbread and butter by making decorativeartwork using the coconut shell. They also usecoconut trees as roofing and ribs to makebrooms. No wonder the coconut tree in India iscalled the “Kalpavruksha” meaning a divinetree fulfilling all wishes.Today the word frugal innovation is being usedso commonly that it creates a larger than lifeimage of for what it is actually intended. Ageneral search on Google with these termswould show up surprisingly innovativeproducts that have been created and more sothat most of these innovations have happenedin India. So, what is so special about Indiansthat makes them do this? No prizes forguessing that in India a huge population andlimited resources have made Indians re-do orre-engineer most of the products to makethem low cost while still delivering their valueor intent. This leads us to think that like allinventions, frugal innovation was also born outof necessity.II. How did it start?If we look back in history or even today, inIndia, in many remote places or villages,people live on whatever is available inabundance around them. One very goodexample is of people living in the coastal areasof India. Here one would find coconut trees inabundance and hence most of the peopleliving there make use of various parts of thecoconut tree in different ways. For example,the milk of the coconut fruit is used for cookingand coconut water is a good way to re-hydrate.Coconut meat is used as a substitute forFigure 1: KalpavrukshaWhile in the above example we saw howIndians in the villages exploit naturalresources for frugal living, the next exampleis about supercomputers . In the 80's, U.S.had enforced a technology restriction fearingthat the supercomputer may be used by Indiafor its missiles and nuclear developmentprograms [1]. Thus in 1988, India started aprogram to develop its first indigenoussupercomputer. With no prior expertise orexperience in this technology, a group ofscientists set off to build a supercomputer. In1990, a prototype of a 'Made in India'supercomputer was benchmarked at ZurichSupercomputing Show and it performedbetter than most other systems. This placedIndia second after the U.S. as asupercomputing power. In 1991, finally the“ PA R A M ” ( m e a n i n g “ S u p r e m e ” )supercomputer was installed. In these threeyears, India not only gained tremendousknowledge about building a supercomputerindigenously, but also resolved thedependencies on other nations andresources. Thus, the necessity of having asupercomputer led India to build one with afrugal budget of INR 34 crore orapproximately6TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

$20 million in 3 years, which wasapproximately the cost of the CRAY computerin the US during that period.benefitted students and entrepreneurs toimplement their designs and ideas to buildinnovative products.The second global example is about the cloudcomputingmodel. Though here we are talkingof some resources that are made available,the important aspect in this model is the lowcost involved and cost based on usage oravailability. Many organizations today usecloud computing that share infrastructure andservices.Figure 2: PARAM SupercomputerIII. Where are we today?Over the past decade, the importance of frugalinnovation has increased and many suchinnovative initiatives are being led globally.While you would read about many suchexamples in other parts of this issue, in thisarticle we would particularly discuss twoglobal examples. One is on the open sourceinitiative and the other on cloud computing.Open source is a methodology thatencourages free access and redistribution ofany product's implementation details. Todayopen source software and hardware [2] haveboth made it big. Open source softwaregained popularity when there was a massiveneed for retooling in the software industry[3].Many small organizations cannot afford tohave costly licensed software. They come upwith their products by using what is availablefrom the open source community. Thisapproach not only saves cost but also the timeto implement and bring a product to market.The open source model in itself is an exampleof frugal innovation in software. Similar to theopen source software, open source hardware(OSH) [4] is also gaining popularity. OSHmakes it possible to share hardware designsin the form of mechanical drawings, PCBlayouts, circuit diagrams, and detailed list ofcomponents. Since the use of FPGA baseddesigns have increased, the OSH concept isgaining importance. This OSH has definitelyIV. ConclusionFrugal innovation has been a part of our dailyliving since olden times. Frugal innovation isnot limited to engineering designs. Some ofthe examples discussed in this article showhow frugal innovation can work as a businessmodel or help people live their daily lives.Every frugal innovation is born out of anecessity and constraint of resources. Themajor learning from all these examples is theempowerment that frugal innovations bring tothe end users.Figure 3: Cloud ComputingRefernces[1] Janne E. Nolan“Global Engagement: Cooperation andstsecurity in the 21 century” published byBrookings Institution Press, 1994.[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_hardware#cite_note-10- last accessed on20th March 2013[3] Steve Weber, “The Success of Open Source”,Harvard University Press, 2009[4] http://web.archive.org/web/20091105185812/http://linuxfund.org/projects/ogd1/ - last accessedon 20th March 2013TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 57

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Impacting LivesAbout the AuthorsShilpa KauthekarKPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd.,Pune, IndiaAreas of InterestEmbedded & Control SystemsRajaram PatilKPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd.,Pune, IndiaAreas of InterestProduct Design &Mechanical EngineeringTechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 59

I. IntroductionMichael Porter once said, “Innovation is thecentral issue in economic prosperity”. Thisclearly signifies that innovation makes money.Recent innovations from Steve Jobs and MarkZuckerberg have changed the wholeperspective of the IT world. The futureprosperity of any country depends on its abilityto generate new ideas, processes andsolutions through which knowledge can beutilized for helpful social and economicprosperity.The economy of any country and the currentmarket situation are the two main drivingfactors that make us think about FrugalInnovation that is beneficial to the populationat large in any country. Economic conditionssuggest that putting money in big amounts inresearch may not be always the perfectsolution which can solve the issues at grassroot level. What is perhaps needed most of thetimes is “Frugal Innovation”. The word 'Frugal'means finding creative ways to do more withless. Cost is the crucial factor which gives areal sense to the concept of “Frugal”.The global economy, as we all know, is inrecession. Asian economies too are strugglingto achieve the expected GDP (GrossDomestic Product). Employment is decliningin many countries. All these factors areconducive to frugal innovations where theproduct that people will tend to buy shouldmost importantly be cost effective apart frombeing robust, reliable & efficient. Hence, frugalinnovation is going to play a major role inmaterializing this.One of the salient features of frugal innovationis that it ensures that economically challengedpeople will be able to have the privilege ofprocuring features or services. This will alsoensure bringing in the required balance withrespect to available facilities.In this article, we will discuss a few examplesfrom the health-care sector to know how frugalinnovation is able to reach the masses and domore with less resources.II. The Jaipur FootSeveral years ago a very interesting movie“Nache Mayuri” was made. This moviedepicted the real life story of a promisingIndian classical dancer Ms. Sudha Chandran.Ms. Chandran had lost her limb in a roadaccident and had given up any hope of beingable to dance ever again in her life. But a pathbreaking invention by an extremely talentedIndian came to her rescue and she could reliveher dream of dancing on stage again. This wasthe “Jaipur Foot” which made her stand on herown feet again, without crutches, and live herlife with dignity.Many of us may not know the importance ofthe Jaipur foot. It looks just as an artificial limb,but it's not as simple as that. It has helpedmany people earn their bread and butter withdignity especially those, who have lost theirlimb in IED/ mines blast in Naxal infestedstates of India and Afghanistan.Before going into the intricacies of Jaipur foot(prosthetic limb), let us see the reasons andneed for it. India, one of the biggest and fastestgrowing countries, is withstanding the worst ofnew age problems that are already faced bydeveloped countries These include roadaccidents, life style diseases like diabetes andrelated problems. These diseases maysometimes result in poor blood supply to lowerlimb leading to gangrene etc. This may resultin morbidity in the form of limb amputations.Available studies show that lower limbamputations account for up to 90% of totalamputations.One of the most reliable, inexpensive andcomfortable solutions to many of theamputees of lower limb is the Jaipur foot alsoknown as the Jaipur Leg. This was developedin 1968 and is a rubber-based10 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

prosthetic leg for people with below-kneeamputations. The prosthetic foot in the U.S.averages $8,000. The Jaipur Foot is tailored tothe active life styles of the poor and costs onlyabout $45 and it is given away free to manypoor handicapped people.[2]The idea of making the Jaipur foot was firstconceived by Mr. Ram Chander Sharmaa.k.aMasterji, who designed and developedthe prosthetic foot and limb, under theguidance of Dr. P.K. Sethi. who was the Headof the Dept. of Orthopedics at S.M.S. MedicalCollege at that time.A. OverviewThis innovation was designed in and namedafter the city of Jaipur in India. The mainconcept behind this prosthetic leg was tomake it inexpensive, easy and quick to fit andmanufacture, and be water-resistant. Masterjifirst created a foot of vulcanized rubber hingedto a wooden limb. After that he continuouslyimproved the design and the materialselection for this. Today the Jaipur Foot ismade of polyurethane, which is the newmaterial used in the production of theprostheses. This increased the robustness ofthe leg. Its essence has however remained:ease and speed of fabrication, lightness inweight (weighing approx. 850 Gm), low costand suitability for working people.Figure 1: Jaipur foot design ([3]Source:http://www.jaipurfoot.org/ )Between 1968 and 1975, approximately 50limbs were fitted. However, since 1975, over300,000 limbs have been fitted. As a result,India has become the world leader in practical,low-cost foot prosthesis. Moreover, the Jaipurfoot has become available throughout Indiaand 18 other countries.B. AdvantagesThe main feature of the Jaipur Foot is that itdoes not require any shoe, i.e., amputees canwalk barefoot. It is made of waterproofmaterial enabling amputees to walk in wet andmuddy fields. It permits enough dorsi-flexion(essential for squatting, standing up fromprone position, etc.) and other movementsnecessary to adapt itself while walking onuneven surfaces. It is one of the most costeffectivefoot-pieces available in the world andis light in weight.The Jaipur foot is better in comparison to itsSolid Ankle Cushion Heel counterpart in ways,primarily in terms of the range of activities,water resistance, span of life and cost. Thesefeatures help a physically challenged personabsorb more easily in a semi-urban - ruralsetup in the Indian subcontinent and otherdeveloping countries. Although inferior inmany ways to the composite carbon fibervariants, its variable applicability and costefficiency make it an acceptable choice forprosthesis.The manufacturing and fitting time required iscomparatively lower.C. FutureToday, the Jaipur Foot comes with severalchanges in the design and manufacturing oflower limb prostheses to keep tempo with theincreased understanding of bio-mechanics.Also, advances in material technology haveput less challenge on the design. At present,the Jaipur foot is being hand-designed but thisalso raises the issues of consistency and itsimpact on quality and reliability. To overcomesome of these issues, an agreement has beensigned with Indian Space ResearchOrganization (ISRO) who inventedpolyurethane technology. This technology willreduce the foot cost by 40% and weight by60%.TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 511

III. Arvind Eye HospitalStatistics show that cataract is one of themajor causes of blindness in the world. In therural areas, where timely medical attentionmay not be easy, it is very easy for thisproblem to go unnoticed till it is too late. In adeveloping country like India, this is a cause ofmajor concern.To counter this, the Indian Governmentlaunched a national cataract control programwhich has succeeded in lowering theprevalence of blindness from 1.49% to 0.3 %.However, one hospital, which brought about arevolutionary change in the way it handledcataract surgeries is the Aravind Eye Hospital.Dr Govindappa Venkataswamy, who startedthis hospital in 1976, realized that poor peoplefrom rural areas, who needed this surgery,were the ones who kept away from suchhospitals as they faced challenges like lodgingduring surgery, food and transport. To reachout to the masses that were in dire need ofthese surgeries, Dr Venkataswamy came upwith a very simple innovative model.They defined a few processes that in turncreated affordable services to all. The doctorsin these clinics sit between two operatingtables; when one doctor is finished with onepatient, he simply turns around towards theother patient who is already draped and readyfor surgery. Thus, they are able to save timebetween two surgeries. This process has alsomade the surgeons extremely productive.Figure 1 below shows the productivityimprovement achieved with the simpleinnovative model of performing surgeries.The average cost of the Cataract surgery hasalso reduced drastically. About 200,000surgeries happen in this hospital every year.They have optimized and defined processesin such a way that this surgery is affordable toeveryone. Figure 2 shows the comparativecost of delivering eye care along with thenumber of eye surgeries performed each year.Apart from being very productive and efficientin the operation theater, there are many otherreasons for its success. Usually in any eyecare system, the cost of the doctors andfacilities is exorbitant. Arvind Managementhowever has managed to lower the above costby being process oriented and using the bestfacilities available. Arvind also manufacturesits own lenses and ophthalmic consumables.The hospital management is pushing to createinnovations to reduce the cost.This hospital conducts eye care camps. Sucheye care camps help people diagnose thereason and take treatment in initial phase ofdisease.All this has made a tremendous impact on thesociety. Eye care and surgeries are nowaffordable to each element of the societyFigure 2: Productivity ImprovementFigure 3: Comparison of number of eye surgeriesperformed and cost of surgeriesIV. Home Based Neonatal CareModel:Most of us are lucky enough to come from agood social background where we shower ourlittle ones with care throughout their lives.However, have we ever thought of thosebabies who do not have the luxury ofvaccinations, proper and timely nutrition, andgood pediatric care? Infant mortality rate allover the world is growing day by day. This isespecially true in the developing nations12 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

where neonatal care is not easily accessible tothe less privileged.One couple who has brought about arevolution in healthcare for the poor anddowntrodden in some of the remotest villagesin India is Dr Abhay and Rani Bang. Aftercompleting their MBBS and subsequent MSfrom one of the reputed universities inAmerica, they returned to India to serve theirfellow Indians.Figure 4 -Dr. Bang with abacus devicefor neo-natal careTogether they have founded SEARCH, a nonprofitorganization whose main aim is toaddress health-care issues. They have beensuccessful in reducing the infant mortality rateby a simple principle; train the women in theseremote villages in neo natal care. Dr Bangfound that the main cause of death in infantswas pneumonia. To fight this, they came upwith the Home Based Neonatal Care (HBNC)model. The women from the village learnt howto diagnose / detect this deadly disease earlyon. This was done using an abacus to countbaby breaths. They were also taught how toresuscitate children and in the event that thebaby was sick, how to administer some basicantibiotics.These trained health visitors went to houseswhere they were most needed. Precious timewas not lost in walking to the nearesthospitals. All that these women carried withthem was a small health pack. Dr Bang thus'empowered' and 'armed' more and morewomen who in turn passed on their knowledgeto others.Of course, the road for this couple has notbeen easy. It was tough to fight the traditionalnon-governmental healthcare that was thenorm for decades. But it was obvious that thissystem was not working for everyoneespecially those living in the remotestvillages.For starters, the lack of transport toreach the nearest hospital was the firstobstacle. Add to that, the high cost oftreatment. These two were formidable factorsthat kept the sick babies away. Change wasdefinitely needed and Dr Abhay and RaniBang were quick to realize it.The couple's untiring efforts have resulted inreducing the infant mortality rate to 50% in thevillages that they work in.This program is nowso popular that other countries like Nepal,Bangladesh, Pakistan and parts of Africa arealso adopting the same.V. ConclusionAs discussed in above examples, it is clearthat the social impact of frugal innovation inhealth care industries huge. The growingpopulation in the developing countries and thesubsequent problems associated with it are abig challenge. It is time to break away from thetraditional way of dealing with diseases and gofrugal.The Jaipur foot, Arvind eye hospital and DrBang's ideas are some of the examples of howany complex problem can be resolved with asimple solution. Thus, innovation has much tooffer to the developing world, but the key is tobe driven by the needs of the common people.References[1] Jaipur foot official website:thhttp://www.jaipurfoot.org/ - last accessed on 20 March 2013[2] Arvind eye care system official website:http://www.aravind.org/clinics/hospitals.aspx -thlast accessed on 20 March 2013[3] “About 70 per cent Indians live in rural areas:thCensus report” –THE HINDU news, 15 July 2011http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2230211.ece -last accessed on 13th March 2013[4]Tracey Vickers, “Driving down the cost of high Quality care,Lessons from the Arvind eye care system”,Health International 2011, Number 11[5] Home based neonatal care official website:http://www.searchgadchiroli.org/brochure%20publication.thhtm – last accessed on 20 March 2013TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 513

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Conserving for TommorrowAbout the AuthorAmeeta MenonHead of CREST,KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd.,Pune, IndiaAreas of InterestArt of Writing,Holistic Healing Techniques,Art and Painting,World and Hindustani Classical Music& SpiritualityTechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 515

I. IntroductionThe human race is a race of survivors. Overmillennia, it has adapted, improvised, andrepeatedly survived catastrophe. Each time itfaced a calamity, whether natural ormanmade, it has struggled in many ways toovercome it. However, over the years, inwrestling with problems such as feeding andhousing itself, it has weakened the very Earthfrom which it has drawn sustenance, thanks toits greed and suicidal shortsightedness.provides solar energy at very low prices toover 125,000 households in remote Indianvillages, exposing the myth that poor peoplecannot afford clean technology. Thistechnology has helped replace the use ofhundreds of thousands of kerosene lamps,which in comparison were found to berelatively expensive, messy and inefficientsystems.However, it would appear that all is not lost, notyet anyways. We still have a fair to middlingchance at redeeming ourselves. We havelearnt painful lessons and many of us haverealized the futility of thoughtlessconsumption. There is a renewed sense ofpurpose in finding ways and means to improveour lives without denuding the Earth of itsprecious resources. Today, the lack ofresources or the fear of losing it, is drivingpeople, corporations, and governments to findways to create products, services andsystems that are easy to buy, easy to use andeasy to recycle. Many promoters have beensuccessful in developing lucrative skills andcreated remarkable products in many'developing' countries, in spite of the shortageof means.The approach to adapt, improvise, andovercome is the basic requirement for anyliving being's survival. It may (or may not)surprise you to know that this is the credo bywhich, one of the most successful fightingforces in the world, namely, the U.S. Marines,lives by. It is this creative attitude that enablespeople to find opportunities in tough situationsand create viable solutions through theefficient use of resources that are limited.Such improvisation across emerging marketshas led to the realization of low priced,minimalistic, innovative solutions, popularlytermed 'frugal innovations'.A good example of this is SELCO, whichFigure 1: A SELCO technician installing solar panels.Photo courtesy SELCOAnother example is that of a washing-cumexercisemachine, hand operated water-liftingdevice, portable smokeless stoves and solarmosquito repellants. These are products thathave been created by entrepreneurs in India.Increasingly, this collective science andtechnology capability is seen as an importantsource of competitive advantage fordeveloping countries and an opportunity tobuild sustainable partnerships with countriesin the west, which are facing economicdifficulties. It is also seen as the key to themitigation of environmental pollution andsustenance of the Earth's precious resources.For instance, in Punjab, India, two PepsiCoemployees developed a novel idea withremarkable renewability credentials. Theyinitiated a new method for growing rice.Conventionally, young rice saplings aretransplanted to fields from a nursery. Thefields are then inundated to hinder the growthof weeds. The new direct seeding method theyintroduced cut labour needs by half, saving30% of the water requirement and reducing16 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

carbon emissions by 70% – yet keeping theyield and quality.A major challenge in India is reducing thewater required for rice cultivation; it accountsfor 40% of the country's total usage. PepsiCoIndia has cut down on water utilizationconsiderably by using direct seeding.To come up with new manufacturing methodsand viable business solutions and not justrevamp its design is an integral part of FrugalInnovation. To increase sales companiesneed to control overheads and acceptreduced profit margins.Ramón Mendiola Sánchez is an example ofthe above. He is the CEO of Florida Ice & FarmCo., a large food and beverage producer anddistributor in Costa Rica. He introduced anappraisal system that helped his company toreduce the consumption of natural resourcessuch as water while delivering more value tothe customers and stakeholders. Under hisable leadership, Florida Ice & Farm hasreduced the amount of water it requires toproduce a litre of beverage from 12 litres to 4.9and aims to further reduce it to 3.5 litres soon.The company achieved an annual growth rateof 25 percent between 2006 and 2010–twicethe industry average. Mr. Sanchez comments''By using incentives, we motivate ouremployees at every level to be creative andinvent frugal and sustainable ways to deliversignificantly more value to all ourstakeholders, using far fewer naturalresources–while saving substantial amountsof money for our company.''Small companies can use Frugal as much asby the large. The blueprint can help small firmsmake that change in developing nations.However, the current resources might makesome of these models difficult to blend into anestablished economy. Mr. Raj Kundra fromAcumen Fund, a nonprofit Venture CapitalCompany, believes there are opportunities inthe affluent markets to consider how servicescan be delivered uniquely.Many Western counterparts are beginning touse this thought methodology to develop newand cost effective solutions. Arup's (amultinational headquartered in the UK)Zimbabwe office designed a turbine extractorthat uses wind rather than electricity to powerbuilding ventilation. The wind-tunnel testingwas accomplished by fitting the system on therear of a pickup truck and driving round a racetrack . The company refers to this as“innovation blowback”—that means usingsolutions that come from developingcountries. This is also termed as reverseinnovation.A good example of the use of frugal innovationis the case of “Vortex Engineering,” whichwanted to increase the level of economicinclusion across rural India. To make thispossible they worked to find a solution toovercome the difficult power situation that is acommon challenge in rural India. They built anATM with a solar panel that consumes veryless power. In fact a normal ATM machinewould use 20 times more power than the onebuilt by Vortex Engineering. Not only do thesemachines have lower operating costs, but alsothe capital spent is approximately a third of thecost of the standard ATM's.Low cost does not necessarily mean a lack ofskill or knowhow. A mix of low and hightechnology can bring about remarkablesolutions. In Ladakh, farmers grow freshvegetables in sub zero climates, thanks to apioneering conservatory designed by localNGOs in partnership with the Frenchorganization “GERES.” These Ashden Awardwinningconservatories use traditional earthand straw insulation coupled with speciallydeveloped UV-resistant heavy-dutypolythene.TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 517

References:Figure 2: Solar greenhouses function during extremeclimatic conditions to produce fresh vegetablesin the peak winter seasonIn some Philippine slums, solar skylightsmade from one liter soda bottles filled withwater and bleach provide light equivalent tothat produced by a 55 watt bulb and mayreduce electricity bills by US$10 per month.Frugal innovation is also an exceptional way todecrease industry's consumption of naturalresources and reduce its environmentalimpact. The key characteristics that willensure the success of 'Frugal Innovation' areto use renewable resources andoptimizemanufacturing processes. A focus onrecycling and repair rather than on disposableitems will also add to its success.In the end, Frugal Innovation is not just aboutbeing cost effective or improving businessrevenues; it is about creating an entirely newattitude to life and respecting the resourcesthat make it possible.1. Image Reference: Selco Solar Panel –GlobalEnvision.Org.Article written by Ben Osborne,Oct 4,2011-India, SELCO blazes social trails to bring power to thepeople2. Arup Reference: Director –Innovation-Plain andSimple by David Woodwardhttp://www.director.co.uk/ONLINE/2011/08_11_frugalinnovation.html3. Our Frugal Future: Nesta:http://www.nesta.org.uk/library/documents/OurFrugFuture.pdf4. Green Future Magazine-The Fruits of FrugalInnovation: Feb 1,20135. Reference to RamonSanchez:http://www.fastcompany.com/1838214/3-lessons-corporate-frugality-developing-world; NaviRadjou, Jaideep Prabhu, & Simone Ahuja May 24, 20126. Frugal Innovation: A New Business Paradigm: ByNavi Radjou and Jaideep Prabhu | January 10, 20137. The Economist-First break all the Rules-Specialreport on Innovation in emerging markets-April8. Pepsico Website:Press Release on Direct Seeding ofRice in Punjab: 7/17/12th9. Ref to Raj Kundra: Investors Chronicle: Oct 28 2011By Sarah Murray- Developing World: Small Scaleinnovation brings vital help to communities10. Image Reference: SolarGreenhouss:http://www.solargreenhouse.org/community_practice.htmlMany homes in India useliquefied petroleum gas(LPG). Thousands of lives arelost every year due to theleakages in cylinders thatcontain LPG. Gautam Kumarhas come up with aninnovative gas detectionsystem that warns a LPG userin case of a leakage. He usessensors and mobile phonesto communicate to the users.H i s i n n o v a t i o n h a scontributed to solve seriousproblems for the masses.Hence he was awarded the‘Social Innovator of the Year’by National InnovationFoundation18 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

ScientistProfileScientistProfileDr. Raghunath Anant Mashelkar“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not everyman's greed”—Mahatma GandhiDr. Raghunath Mashelkar, an eminent scientist and well known scholar,used these words of Gandhiji inspiringly to come up with a novel ideawhich he termed Gandhian Engineering and explains it as getting morefrom less for more people.Dr. Mashelkar was born on January 1, 1943 in a place called Mashel,Goa. He lost his father at the tender age of 6. Hardships were verymuch part of his young life. He used to go to his school bare-foot. Whilehis principal and science teacher were conducting a scienceexperiment by pointing a glass lens to a paper till the paper startedburning, his principal told him that if he could focus on his studies theway the lens focused sunlight on the paper, he would reach the sky.Considering the steely nerved determination his mother had in hisupbringing and education, things could only get better for him. Beingvery studious, he always topped his class. Although he managed to bea rank holder in matriculation examination, his mother could not supporthis college education. Through various scholarships, he was able toattend college. Later, young Mashelkar studied at the University ofBombay's Department of Chemical Technology where he obtained aBachelor's Degree in 1966 and later on, a PhD in 1969.In 1969, he moved to the University of Salford where he held Fellowshipin the Department of Chemical Engineering. He was a lecturer inChemical Engineering until 1976. Dr. Nayudamma readily sawglimpses of a true visionary in him. He picked Dr. Mashlkar as thebrightest scientist and referred him to the National Chemical Laboratory(NCL), Pune in 1974. Dr Mashelkar worked as an assistant director inNCL from 1976-1978, as a Deputy Director from 1978-1986, then asScientist in Director's grade till 1989. He then became the Director ofNCL and continued till 1995.It is said that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Thisbecame true of him as he went on to earn the title “Warrior of Haldighati”during his tenure at NCL. He noticed that though NCL was establishedin 1950, they did not have a single patent. His motto ‘patent, publish andprosper’ worked miracles as NCL prospered. People used to call him“Polymerkar” as polymer science was his area of expertise. Hiscrusades in patenting earned him the name “Patentkar”.Men on mission always have a vision. When Dr Mashelkar took over asthe Director General of CSIR, (Council of Scientific & IndustrialResearch) he enunciated "CSIR 2001: Vision & Strategy." This was abold attempt to draw out a corporate R&D and business plan for apublicly funded R&D institution. This unconventional initiative, thoughhaving raised few eyebrows, has transformed CSIR into a userfocussed, performance driven and accountable organization. Thisprocess of transformation has been heralded as one of the ten mostsignificant achievements of Indian Science and Technology in thetwentieth century, by eminent astrophysicist Prof. Jayant Narlikar, in his2003 book, Scientific Edge: The Indian Scientist from Vedic to ModernTimes.Dr Mashelkar explains Gandhian Engineering as developing productsand services that improve everyone's life, an innovation that does notleave out the poor. Dr Mashelkar took an initiative to help raise theproductivity and income of millions of Indians living along the easterncoastline. The coastal community relies on fishing for their livelihood andthey come under the zone called Satellite based Potential Fishing Zone orPFZ for short. In the past often fishermen used to return home at the end ofthe day without a single catch. The PFZ system supports fishing activity.Scientists observe increase in chlorophyll as green coloration of waterdue to fish activity. Fish activity also leads to changes in Sea SurfaceTemperature (SST). This PFZ information can be disseminated tofishermen by means of electronic message board display or by sendingSMS to the fishermen's mobile phones by means of tie-ups with certainmobile network providers. This helps the fishermen increase theirproductivity since they can go to places where fish density is more.Dr Mashelkar made the first molecular level interpretation of volume phasetransitions in stimuli responsive gels through his Lattice Fluid Hydro gelsBonding models. This study led to an understanding of the role of thesubtle hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance in determining these transitionsand also in molecular tailoring of these intelligent gels.Dr Mashelkar has made exemplary contributions in Intellectual PropertyMovement. Based on a worldwide opinion poll (2003–2005), InternationalJournal 'Managing Intellectual Property' has listed Dr Mashelkar as one ofthe 50 most influential people in intellectual property from 19 countriesaround the world. He spearheaded the challenge of the successrevocation of the US patent on wound-healing properties of turmeric andchaired the Technical committee, which successfully challenged therevocation of the US patents on Basmati rice by Ricetec, Texas in 2001.This has opened up new paradigms in the protection of traditionalknowledge, not only for India but also for the entire developing world.He is presently the President of Global Research Alliance & NationalInnovation Foundation. He was formerly President of India NationalScience Academy & UK Institution of Chemical Engineers. He is only therd3 Indian engineer to be elected as a Fellow of Royal Society (FRS) andstthe 1 Indian to be elected as the foreign associate of Australian Academyof Technological Sciences and Engineering, He is also the only scientist tohave won the JRD Tata Corporate leadership (1998). He has also hadstellar presence in the Board of Directors of companies like RelianceIndustries Limited (2007), Tata Motors Limited (2007), Piramal LifeSciences (2008), Hindustan Unilever Limited (2008). IndigenePharmaceuticals Inc,(2008), GeneMedix Biological Private Limited (2008)and KPIT Cummins InfoSystems Limited (2008) as well.Awards do not come as mere recognition. They come as mighty wholehearted tributes for the stealthy impact the person has made to the worldand people alike whilst making such accomplishments. Dr Mashelkar wasconferred with two of the civilian awards of the highest cadres - Padmashriin 1991 and Padmabhushan in 2000. Bank of India, Mumbai gave him theGolden Jubilee Award in 1998 for excellence in R&D management.Materials Research Society of India conferred on him Material Scientist ofthe Year Award in the year 2000. For his contributions to advancingscience and technology in India, he got the Dadabhai Naoroji MemorialAward in 2002, and New Millennium Innovation Award (2003) byAssociated Chamber of Commerce for excellence in innovation(ASSOCHAM).Though he possesses a very captivating presence and a charismaticpersona, he is a very humble and down-to-earth human being. He hasalways been a champion pioneer of development for everyone. Life seemsto have come a full circle to him since he never showed any signs of lettinghis teachers and well-wishers down. So much so, that, even his schoolprincipal might have felt like clapping astutely and saying, “way to go, myboy”. Let us all stand up to salute this living legend.Rakesh RaoCREST, KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd.,AreasofInterestEmbedded SystemsTechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 519

20TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

Connecting the MassesAbout the AuthorShilpa DhavaleKPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd.,Pune, IndiaAreas of InterestTechnology impact on Environment,Business Intelligence and Analytics &Management Information SystemTechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 521

I. IntroductionScarcity has become a major driver forinnovation. The bleaker economy of the lastfew years has forced companies,organizations, universities – and just abouteveryone – into an ascetic mode. Innovation ismore critical than ever. All around us, we seeradical ideas and inventions in technology thatin spite of being frugal have solutions foreveryday needs.In the communication technology, we haveseen rapid changes and breakthroughs.These have taken the communication worldby storm when they were launched and havetoday become an inseparable part of our lives.These include bluetooth, camera phones,RSS technology, Skype, social media,wikipedia etc.Amongst these, the mobile technology in thelast few years has metamorphosed into atremendously growing facet which has calledfor multiple innovations and a global reach outlike no other.It was then, very natural, that the next steps inthis growing phenomenon was to look forsolutions and 'work with the best and cheapestavailable resources' available. The idea wasto basically bring in frugality to come up withmobiles sets, calling plans, accessories andtouching just about all areas to reach the hugeconsumer base.The aspects of affordable pricing andaddressing critical considerations ofconsumers, has been the deciding factor forsuccessful frugal innovations. The frameworkgiven in figure below depicts areas forcompanies that intend to succeed with frugalinnovation and gives guidance on effortsrelated to frugal innovation.What has emerged is an interesting array ofproducts, solutions and a scenario wherethere is substantial competition to grab themarket share. There is no limit to the servicesthat can be offered on this miniature platform.This article talks about a few such examples inthe mobile communication field.Figure 1: Framework for SuccessfulFrugal InnovationII. Vodafone Solar Powered MobileOne of the upcoming attractions; Vodafonehas come up with a solar powered handsetthat is priced at a minimal Rs. 1500 ($30) .Thisis specifically targeted for rural India. It has allthe basic features of a phone plus it also aidesin informing the user of the remaining balance.This feature alone will make it a hit amongstthe rural population. The inclusion of an inbuilthardware and software called 'Sun Boast'makes it possible for the phone to chargeunder normal daylight too.In addition Vodafone has also penetrated theIndian market by selling pre-paid cellularphone service vouchers for as low asRs.10.($0.2) Reaching mass consumers hasbeen made possible by selling the vouchersthrough grocery and convenience stores.III. Nokia Bicycle Charger KitOther mobile handset companies like Nokiaare also not far behind when it comes totargeting the rural population. They havecome up with a Bicycle Charger Kit. This kit iscompatible with all their phones that have a2mm charging interface. Consisting of a bottledynamo, a charger and a phone holder, this kitfits on the bicycle. People in rural India usedynamos to provide light in the dark to thebicycle. Nokia has used this exact principle.Currently, Nokia aims at capturing marketswhere electricity supplies are unpredictable.This feature will definitely empower a lot ofless privileged people to communicate witheach other.22 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

VI. Micromax Mobile HandsetAnother classic example of a breakthrough inthe mobile technology in the last few years iswhen Micromax vowed to bring in handsets atentry and mid-level for Rs 1800 to Rs 2400($35 to 45 USD).Figure 2: Bicycle Charger KitIV. Safaricom in KenyaA Kenyan company, Safaricom, has launchedan extremely useful service via SMS (shortmessaging service)or via text message onmobile phones. Funds can be transferredthrough SMS. This idea was born once theyrealized a large part of the population weremobile phone users but were not so much intotraditional banking. Thus, the M-PESA servicewas launched. This service has now becomeso popular that customers use it for payingtheir utility bills as well as safe storage ofmoney. The fact that it is also highly affordablemakes it an added attraction.V. Nokia 1100All of us at some point in time have seen theNokia 1100. The neighboring lady has it, ourhousehold help has it, and even the schoolbus driver has it. Who can deny its massappeal? In addition to basic features like voiceand text, it also has a flashlight and is durable.The biggest attraction however, would be itscost.Micromax initially targeted small towns andrural areas; however; currently, it is expandingits horizon to newer territories.Figure 2: Micromax HandsetsRecently some of the cheap and importedChinese mobiles phones that lacked an IMEInumber were banned. This has alsocontributed in a major way towards the salesof affordable Micromax phones.VII. InnovationsConsidering the erratic power in most of India,Micromax has increased its battery size of oneof its models, the X1i. It can last as many as30 days on standby. This too amounted to itssuccess and gave the company an initial boostin sales.The competition was tough and in order tobeat it, Micromax had to come up withinnovative ideas to strengthen its distributionnetwork. Micromax knew they had arrived butin order to keep the momentum going, theyhad to think differently and frugally.Figure 2: Nokia 1100 handsetTechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 523

Micromax first launched the dual SIM and dualreception (GSM and CDMA) handsets beforeNokia did. This established their market share.Micromax has now targeted competitors likeSamsung by introducing the Android andtouchscreen handsets at a very low price. Thisis specifically to suit the requirements andpreferences of different consumer groups,Micromax also has mobile phones withQwerty keyboards, utility, 3G, gaming andmultimedia handsets, phones that work asuniversal remote controls etc.VIII. What Next?And finally post the breakthroughs of Nokiaand Micromax' of the world what will the nextmega - selling phone look like? What featureswould it have and how would it compete withthe next generation of Smart phone? They'llbe rough facsimiles of the high-end smartphones forged for well-heeled buyers,stripped of fat and excess—an embodiment ofcompromise. They'll be 90% of the phone for20% of the price, with FM radios instead ofdigital music stores, and flashlights instead ofLED flashes.Reference:[1] Prahalad, C.K. and Hammond, Allen (2002) Servingthe World's Poor, Profitably.. HarvardBusinessReview,Vol. 80 Issue 9, p48-57[2] Frugal Innovation, The Key to Penetrating EmergingMarkets by KaushikMukhrjee, Ivey Business Journalwww.scu.edu (Santa Clara University) CoreCompetencies in Frugal EngineeringREVOLODue to the increase in green house gasemissions and fuel prices, electric or hybridvehicles are a need of today. However, there is agreater need to convert existing cars to hybridelectric cars. Revolo is an intelligent, plug-in,parallel hybrid solution, developed by KPITCummins and Bharat Forge Limited.Benefits* Fuel efficiency improvement of over 35% hasbeen consistently observed during tests at ARAIas well as on road.* Reduces Green House Gas (GHG) emissionsby over 30%.* Provides more pep and additional power to thevehiclewhile maintaining safety.* Improves the ride handling and drivingpleasure.* Increases the life of the engine and reducesmaintenance cost.* Applicable on vehicles starting from 800 ccengine to 3000 cc engines.* For commercial applications when the vehicleis used for higher mileage (>55,000 km), thebreakeven time can beas low as two years.* Retro-fitment of this solution can beexpeditiously done in 4 to 6 hours.* Solution does not require additionalinfrastructure investments from the government.Solution Details* 'Plug-in' – The batteries used in the solution canbe charged from a standard external electricitysource such as a domestic power outlet.* 'Parallel hybrid' – The motor and engine worksimultaneously at all times. The vehicle will neverwork like an EV (electric vehicle) only and hencewill continue to operate as a conventional fuelvehicle if the batteries are fully discharged.* The solution is fuel-agnostic, it can be adoptedfor both petrol and diesel vehicles.* The batteries are recharged througho p p o r t u n i t y - b a s e d r e g e n e r a t i o n a n dregenerative braking thereby enhancingthe range per charge.* The solution also includes an inbuilt Stop-Startfeature, which improves the fuel efficiency in'stop & go' traffic situations.* The solution also has in-built intelligence thatrecognizes driving patterns and self-adjusts toprovide optimum efficiency.* The solution is battery-agnostic; it can beadopted to work with various types of batteriessuch as lead-acid or lithiumionbatteries.* The solution works without any interaction orinterference with the existing EngineManagement System (EMS) of the vehicle. Thesystem is thereby also adaptable tovehicles without EMS and without electronicengines.* This solution can be made available as anOriginal Equipment Manufacturer integratedsolution or even retrofitted on vehicles as anaftermarket solution.24 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

Reverse Innovation :Create far from home,Win everywhereAuthors : Vijay Govindarajan andChris TimbleBOOK REVIEWIntroduction:Perhaps one would think that all the high tech gadgets and mindblowing innovations travel from the rich countries to the poorcountries. Well, this book will make one think again. The authors givea refreshing perspective towards the innovations made in theemerging nations like India and China. These solutions are typicallylow-cost with good enough quality and focused on the very needs ofthe locals. Then, once success is achieved in the local markets, theseare upgraded and sold to the developed markets.Take GE healthcare (one of the dominant manufacturers of medicalimaging,diagnostics, and health-information technologies) forexample. The local team in India realized that GE's ECG machinesare heavy, high-tech and cost from about $3000 to $10,000, and arenot really an ideal solution for the Indian economy. They wanted tocreate a product which would typically benefit Indians in every sense,be it cost-effective or easy access in the rural areas. They startedfrom grounds up focusing on frugal solution .After applying differentstrategies, both technical and process, they were able to build highlyportable, low cost ECG machines, perfect for the Indian market andwith a cost of $800! After achieving the desired results, it was clearthat the same machine could be sold in other countries as well. Todaythese machines are sold in 194 mostly European countries . Thisprocess of backward travel of the innovation is known as “ReverseInnovation”, a term popularized by the authors, and it is a clearindication of the change in global dynamics of innovation, mostly dueto a constant decrease in the gap between the rich and the emergingnations.The objective of this book is to first help the readers grasp the theoryand principle behind reverse innovation. In order to accomplish this,the authors have cited many examples, like the above mentioned GEhealthcare, signifying the essence of the term in the current globalscenario. The authors urge the developed nations, established firmsand the next generation of leaders and innovators to shift from theage old strategy of “exporting to emerging markets to innovating foremerging markets”. The book talks about the “needs gaps” betweendeveloped and emerging nations. It further identifies five gaps onthe basis of the infrastructure they possess, the price versusperformance expectations from the products, sustainability issues,their respective regulatory systems and lastly their distinctpreferences. The authors say that these gaps are so substantial thatthe needs of the masses of the emerging nations can merely beaddressed by just making adaptations to rich-world products. Thesefive are indeed, the “five paths of reverse innovation” and can only bedealt with if started from scratch.The second goal of this book is to provide a practical guidance toexecute the same, avoiding impending traps. Here, the overallconcept that the book has tried to explain is that the multinationalcorporations in the rich world must build up a deeper understandingof local consumer problems by putting together a differentmanagement model. On the other hand, the home companies mustbuild global brands and global distribution capabilities. Thus,according to the authors, the prime barrier for reverse innovation isorganizational and approach based rather than technology orfinance based.The second half of the book is very interesting; it contains differentcase studies of companies such as GE, Procter & Gamble andPepsiCo, illustrating their trials, tribulations and triumphs in followingthe path of reverse innovation. Through their respective experiencesthe readers will certainly get a clear picture of the importance of thispowerful tool that adds to the innovation capabilities of both thedeveloped and developing nations.This book is worth a read for people residing in any part of the worldand at any level of the society. The authors, Vijay Govindarajan andChris Trimble of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, haveshared their insight in a very detailed and clear way and haveprovided with a good amount of assertive examples.Mayurika ChatterjeeCREST,KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd.,Pune, IndiaAreasofInterestMechatronics and Control SystemsTechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 525

26 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

Reusing to RecreateAbout the AuthorAditi AthavaleCREST,KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd.,Pune, IndiaAreasofInterestMulticore Programming, Cryptography,Nature Inspired InnovationTechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 527

I. Introduction“Waste neither time nor money, but make thebest use of both. Without industry and frugality,nothing will do, and with them everything."--Benjamin FranklinIs this not a timeless quote that applies to everytechnology, product, or service that we create?Frugality is an eternal principle that has been inpractice since ages. However, due to evergrowingcrunch of natural and artificialresources, it will definitely be a prudent strategyto adapt to in future. Projectors made out of cellphones and tiffin boxes, incubators made fromautomobile spare parts, mobile phones that candetect forged currencies, a water transportproduct that cleans water on the go, are some ofthe examples of frugal engineering that will behighlighted in this article. What is special aboutthese solutions is that they are designed bystudying the requirements of the societies, themeans available to them, and their affordability.They emphasize the fact that requirements canlead to audacious thinking and crazy but frugalsolutions.II. NeoNurture : The 'Car Parts'IncubatorsNeonatal deaths are a serious cause of concernworldwide. One of the major reasons is the lackof consistent supply of heat that keeps the babieswarm. To give them a clean and warmenvironment, incubators are used worldwide.However, due to huge prices and maintenancecosts, they are not easily affordable in hospitalsand the primary health care centers at villagesand small cities. Maintenance is the biggestproblem, even after purchasing an incubator. Atsuch places, finding technical support tomaintain the instruments is a major problem. Thisproblem led the designer at a non-profitorganization based in US, (Design that Matters)[1],to a question that “What is it available even atthe remote places?” Surprisingly, they gotpointers to a survey that said Coke, cigarettes,and car parts are the products that are widelyavailable even at such places. This triggered athought that if incubators were made up of carparts, mechanics would be able to service them.Hence, designers started working towards it.The first major component of the incubators is awarming system. By regulating the heat receivedfrom the beam headlights of a car, warmingsystems are designed. A motor blower brings inthe flow of fresh air from outside. A door chimealarms the health care worker if the temperatureinside the incubator crosses certain temperature.A small battery and a car charger act asadditional sources of power in cases theincubator should be relocated from one place toanother.Apart from the basic features, this incubator alsoincorporates some features that are rarelyavailable in most of the current incubators. TheNeo-Nurture incubator is designed to work onone single hinge, which allows open access fromthree sides. It also has a built-in power regulationfeature. The incubator also provides a feature'Mattress-Tilt' that uses two hinges at sides of theincubator. This eliminates the need of costly tiltsystems. Apart from the ease of maintenance,Neo-Nurture incubator provides state-of-artincubator facilities at low cost.III. Manufacturing Trucks at LowerCostsIs it possible to build a truck that is fuel efficientand competitive in pricing at the same time?Daimler, in order to enter India's ever-growingautomobile market, decided to take up thechallenge. A team of 400 engineers of DaimlerIndia Commercial Vehicles (DICV), successfullylaunched the new truck that is 10% more fuelefficient than its competitors. Since 2012, underthe brand name 'BharatBenz', Daimler is offeringthe trucks at nearly half the price of comparabletrucks in Europe.Thanks to India's increasing capacity ofm a n u f a c t u r i n g e x c e l l e n t a u t o m o t i v ecomponents, Daimler is able to get nearly 85%components from domestic suppliers. More than400 suppliers have been involved as a part of thisventure. There has been some reduction in thenumber of electronic components of the truck. Tomake the prices attractive to Indian market,engines have been redesigned. The newengines, being lighter, are cheaper to produceand maintain.IV. Potability of Clean WaterstEven in the 21 century, access to clean waternear the habitat is still a luxury for a large part ofthe world population. The challenge is twofold.First challenge is in having resources of potablewater near households, and the second is in thecleanliness of that water. Having studied these28 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

challenges, researchers at Santa ClaraUniversity came up with the innovative solution,Milagro [2], of cleaning water when it is beingtransported. People can carry water using thewheel as it is a container. The cost of this solutionis similar to the water containers having samecapacity. In addition to that, it reduces the effortsin carrying the water to remote places.VI. Reducing 'One Gram PerComponent' to Reduce CostIn order to reduce the production costs, Suzuki inIndia decided to reduce at least one gram of eachof the component present in the car. On anaverage, a car contains nearly 2500components. Hence, in a car weighing 665 kg,reduction of a minimum of 2.5 kg would make thevehicle lighter and cut the costs as well. Thedesigners, vendors, suppliers who areassociated with the car and its components wereinvited to give their suggestions. Manymanufacturers that supply components likepistons, rings, valves, seats, rims, roofs, mirrors,axles, and so on, worked towards this. Nearly2000 suggestions were received and 300 amongthem were actually implemented [3]. Thisresulted into a whopping reduction of 15%reduction in the car weight. Making the vehiclelight offered an advantage to both them a n u f a c t u r e r s a n d t h e c u s t o m e r s .Manufacturers could reduce the cost, whereaslighter vehicles required less fuel, benefitting thecustomers.VII. Projector and Portable Library forRural AreasIn rural areas, illiteracy is a cause of concern.One of the major reasons is scarcity of resourceslike books, reading material, electricity, etc.Working on this aspect, a team of researchersand designers at DtM came up with a low-costprojector which can also be used as a library [4].KinkaJou, a product developed by DtM, consistsof a battery and a solar panel. Considering theinability of villages to repair it frequently, thesystem has been designed to be robust, low cost,and one that consumes less power. To achievethe objective of durability, an LED has been usedas a source of lighting in place of a bulb. Toreduce the weight of the projector, plastic lenses,which are typically used in toys, are used in placeof glass lenses. With this the projector one canproject a picture as large as 3 meters in width.Microfilms, which are almost outdated, are usedto store the images and contents of a book. Atplaces where electricity supply is notguaranteed, a solar panel is also provided withthe projector [5]. This projector has beendeployed in more than 40 villages in Mali andapproximately 2000 people have used it for nighttime education. The innovative product has alsoreceived many accolades across the world.VIII. Low Cost ATM MachinesIn order to install ATMs and provide bankingfacilities in rural India, many factors need to beaddressed. One of the factors is cost. In addition,power supply to these machines is a seriousproblem. Above all, illiterate people cannot usethe machines easily. In order to cater to all ofthese requirements, a team of researchers hascome up with a low-cost ATM machine. Solarenergy is available in abundance at practicallyno cost. Hence, these are used to power the ATMmachines. A sophisticated scanner that can scanthe fingerprints and authenticate the user makesit very easy to use even to illiterate people. StateBank of India is taking up installation of suchATMs in the rural places in India.IX. ConclusionFrugality, as a principle, applies to everything thathuman beings create. However, it has morevalue in the markets of developing countries.According to a special feature in The Economist(April 15, 2010), products of “Frugal innovation”in India and China cannot be mistaken as merelycheap, low quality goods, as they are innovativeproducts adapting to new market needs andcreating impact in international markets as well.In this article, we highlighted the journey of someenthralling 'frugal' technologies that havecreated an impact on the lives of those usingthem.References[1] 'NeoNurture: the Car Parts Incubator,'http://designthatmatters.org/portfolio/projects/incubator/[2] Vipin Garg, Steven Gong, and William Reed, 'Milagro,' Online,Available At: http://www.scu.edu/profiles/?p=4769[3] Shiv Shivaraman, Manish Mathur, Ram Kidambi,'Frugal Re-engineering: Innovatively Cutting Product Costs,' Online,Available At: http://www.atkearney.com/operations/featured-article/-/asset_publisher/BqWAk3NLsZIU/content/frugal-reengineering-innovatively-cutting-product-costs/10192[4] 'Kinkajou® Microfilm Projector,' Online, Available at: http://designthatmatters.org/portfolio/projects/kinkajou/[5] 'The fruits of frugal innovation,' Online, Available at: http://www.forumforthefuture.org/greenfutures/articles/fruits-frugal-innovationTechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 529

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Emerging ‘Bricks’About the AuthorReena Kumari BeheraCREST,KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd.,Pune, IndiaAreasofInterestImage Processing & Signal ProcessingTechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 531

I. IntroductionMoney has become a vital part in every one'slife. There is a desire to get more things with asmuch less amount of money as possible.Frugal innovation aims at providing the basicfunctionality at a lower cost. In most of thedeveloping nations, the major portion of thepopulation is accounted by middle classpeople who have an average income. Anyproduct would surely appeal to this portion ofthe community, if it is cost-effective.Developing nations have a very strong beliefin frugal innovation. This article explainsmultiple products which fall under theparadigm of 'frugal innovation'. It also explainsthe need for creating such products, theirjourney from idea to implementation, and theirimpact in international markets.atmosphere. Figure 1 shows one of the FGDplants in China. FGD is very important torestrict sulphur dioxide emissions from thepower plants into the atmosphere. Thisequipment can be introduced at a very lowercost (approximately 80%)in China incomparison with other nations. The use of coaland wind energy which is in abundance inChina helps in achieving this. Introduction ofthese technologies would lead to cost savingsthat would in turn support in conservingenergy and maintaining sustainability in thecoming years.II. Energy Potential of ChinaIt is rightly said that “Necessity is the mother ofinvention”. The demand for energy isincreasing drastically in every nation. Due tothe rapid growth in the industrialization, theenergy consumption is increasing nonlinearly.In order to maintain a sustainablegrowth, the renewable energy sources shouldbe explored. The major sources of energy forChina include coal, crude oil, natural gas, andrenewable resources. Coal accounted forabout 75% of energy supply. The increase inthe demand for power would increase the useof coal. China has an abundant reserve ofrenewable energy resources as aconsequence of its territorial location. Powergenerated using the sources such as wind andcoal are 30% to 40% cheaper than theproducts manufactured by the companiesfrom other nations. The varying types of coalwith different properties available in Chinahelp in minimizing the operating costs inaccordance with the individual utility'sspecifications. Sulphur dioxide is a strong biproductin almost all the power plants. Fluegas desulphurization (FGD) is used to preventthe emission of sulphur dioxide into theFigure1.Luohuang FGD plant under constructionin China [1]III. Mettler Toledo Basic WeighingScaleEvery small thing that we use in our day-to-dayactivity is a result of many years of research.Thoughts from many minds combine beforeany product comes into the market. Peoplealways want something better than what wehave right now. Have you ever given a thoughtabout the innovation behind the electronicweighing machines? We encounter thesemachines in one form or the other in almostevery place. During the laboratoryexperiments, everyone would haveencountered a small size weighing machine.This electronic machine was invented in 1945by Mettler Toledo (MT) Company who is thepioneer in this field. It is a global leader inmanufacturing highly precision weighingmachines for various purposes. It has an32 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

amazing accuracy of up to one ten-millionth ofa gram. MT soon realized that it is facing avery tough competition with other companiesthat are producing low cost weighinginstruments. It started a joint venture with acompany to enter into the low cost market.Within a span of few years, the joint R&D ledto the development of a low cost weighingmachine with a compromise with certain otherfeatures. The instrument was designed insuch a way that the accuracy is lower incomparison with the standard instrument. Thematerials used in the development were costefficientand a different design is given to theinstrument. The compromised featuresinclude fully automated adjusting, protectivecovering, dynamic weighing, electronic dataanalysis via PC, and programmability. Thebasic functionality of the product is stillachievable with a fairly good accuracy [4].Figure 2.Weighing machine[2]IV. GE Portable UltrasoundMachineHealth is the major concern for every livingcreature. It is rightly quoted that “health iswealth”. The medical equipment used forassessing the health is very expensive.Accuracy of these machines is expected to bevery high. A minor error in any instrumentmight lead to dangerous conclusions. GE'sprimary business is to develop high-endmedical-imaging equipment. The ultrasoundtechnology found its application in the medicalfield. The ultrasound machines are inferior inits performance in comparison with the CT andMR scanners but they were lower in cost. Thecost of these machines is still higher and theywere affordable only at sophisticated medicalcenters. The instrument is also very bulky,complicated and expensive. Sick peopleespecially who are below the poverty linewould not be able to afford the cost incurred inusing this machine. Moreover, the patients willnot dare to come to urban hospitals for thecheckup. The instrument should bemanufactured in such a way that it can beeasily carried. This will help in taking theinstrument to the patients. GE envisioned thisdream and worked towards making it a hugesuccess. GE launched its first compactultrasound machine in 2002, integrated with alaptop. The cost of the instrument was$30,000. It launched another model at a costof $15,000 in 2007. The lower cost of themachine enabled it to be installed in almost allthe rural clinics. It is largely based oncommodity technologies such as notebookscreens for imaging and common interfacesbetween computer hardware and peripheralequipment. The performance of the system islow in comparison with the high endultrasound machine. But it could serve thepurpose for some health issues such asspotting enlarged livers and gall bladders andstomach irregularities. These machines wereinitially developed for rural China. It hasextended its market to even United States,where these machines are preferred inhospitals with limited financial resources.Figure 3.Portable Ultrasound Machine[3]TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 533

V. Logitech and PhilipsLogitech also entered into the low cost marketsegment. It developed many such productsworldwide. The computer mouse M215 beingthe first to cater to the low cost market. Theinitial M215 had a very fancy look whichresulted in its high cost. In order to introducethe product into the low cost market, thepackaging of M215 was reduced to minimum.This helped in lowering the cost of the product.The bedside patient monitoring systemdeveloped by Philips is used to measure anddisplay several physiological parameters andwaves, and generate alarms and recordings. Itcan exchange information with compatibledevices. Philips tried to understand how theirproducts were used in rural hospitals throughjoining local doctors at work. The purpose ofthe display device of the instrument is to showvarious parameters and recordings of thepatient. But to the surprise of Philips, thedisplay device was also used as a writing pad.The instrument was also carried inside theoperating theaters where it was continuouslyexposed to sweat and blood. Such scenarioswere unimaginable in western hospitals. Inorder to cope up with such situations, theinstrument was offered with a robust design.The functionality of the system was simplifiedwith increased reliability.V I . S i e m e n s C o m p u t e dTomography ScannerThe collaboration of Siemens with the R&Dteam of China helped in developing a low costCT scanner. This collaboration helped theseteams to develop products that can beinstalled in tiny rooms and are robust enoughto handle dirt and frequent power fluctuations,and can endure intense usage. The productwas designed with simple and basicfunctionality. It was designed for intensive useand fast workflow. It would be very difficult forthe development team from any developedcountry to make a product for usage indeveloping nations. The team might not fullyunderstand the requirements. The basic andimportant factor in frugal innovation is toestablish local organizational structures. Theoutcome of the frugal innovation highlydepends on the capability of the R&D team tounderstand the local requirements andmodulate into effective, low-cost products.VII. GuanxiAny organization would need to maintainconnection with other organizations orcompanies for the growth and success of theorganization. The use of flexible networks isaccomplished by guanxi. Guanxi describesthe personalized networks of influence. Thisculture is followed in the Chinese society. Itdescribes a personal connection between twopeople where one can ask for a favor orservice to other and vice-versa [8]. This helpsin reducing the cost in maintaining thenetworks and increases the flexibility. A Hong-Kong based company, Li & Fung, applies thisconcept and is in collaboration with a networkof 12,000 companies operating in more than40 countries. It uses its associates to track thequality and order fulfillment. A motorcyclemaker,Dachangjiang, also uses the sametechnique to maintain a network withhundreds of parts suppliers. The network canbe reduced or expanded on demand. Theycan also encourage other organizations toinnovate by providing rough sketches of theproblem [9].VIII. ShanzhaiYou name any gadget, you will surely find alow cost product replicate for the same. Haveyou seen pen drives in the shape of an ATMcard, phones in the form of watches? Some ofus feel that it is a good way to operate thesame gadget at a lower price. But some of usalso feel annoyed by seeing the same gadget34 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

that we possess to exist in the low cost marketat a very low cost. This is popularly known asShanzhai. Shanzhai word came into use withthe advent of increase in the sales of Shanzhaic e l l p h o n e s . T h e s e p h o n e s w e r emanufactured by imitating the functionality ofother phones. This market also paves a way toinnovate and try to achieve the functionality ata lower price. Many of these products are verythought oriented and innovative.Other innovative products include the washingmachine from Haier which is also called MiniMagical Child for the local market. It served asan alternative for the expensive machines. Itcan be used for fewer loads. This product wasinitially targeted for only China but has beenextended worldwide. Another firm, Galanz,developed a cost effective, energy efficientmicrowave that is available at an affordablecost. The Tata Nano which has becomefamous for its low cost is a stunning examplefor frugal innovation. Though it was initiallydeveloped for the Indian market, it couldcreate its place in the market in manydeveloped nations.IX. ConclusionFrugal Innovation is the emerging trend in thepresent and coming future. Developingnations has demonstrated its capability inthinking frugally by setting many examples.The low cost doesn't mean that the productdeveloped using this technique is inefficient.Achieving the same functionality of a device ora gadget at a much lower cost needs a lot ofresearch and time. With the increasing cost oflife, people would surely appreciate the lowcost products. Frugal innovation is the future.References1.“Flue Gas Desulphurisation (Fgd) Technologies”,Technology Status Report, 2000. Available atftp://ftp.nilu.no/pub/NILU/kys/Para29/Para29-Constorl%20costs-FGD%20technologies.pdf2.http://www.google.co.in/search?as_st=y&tbm=isch&hl=en&as_q=mettler+toledo+weighing+balance&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&cr=&as_sitesearch=&safe=active&tbs=sur:f&biw=1311&bih=570&sei=eG1IUeSnFsjRrQe0mIDQBg#imgrc=xaClmF6tgbW-IM%3A%3BvG5s_GG4OniKUM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fupload.wikimedia.org%252Fwikipedia%252Fcommons%252F5%252F5d%252FBalance_Mettler_AJ100.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fcommons.wikimedia.org%252Fwiki%252FFile%253ABalance_Mettler_AJ100.jpg%3B2200%3B19453.http://www.google.co.in/search?as_st=y&tbm=isch&hl=en&as_q=GE+portable+ultrasound+machine&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&imgsz=&imgar=&imgc=&imgcolor=&imgtype=&cr=&as_sitesearch=&safe=active&as_filetype=&as_rights=1&biw=1311&bih=570&sei=-ytIUcO9NYH-rAeQ3YHoCAWood is a fast disappearing natural resourcethanks to manmade concrete jungles. Inorder to reduce the reliance on this naturalresource, an innovator has come up with aprocess of making splints for safety matchesusing other natural fibers. These matchsticksare different from the conventional ones inthe sense that they burn slowly but steadily,reducing the chances of the users’ fingersbeing burnt. No other harmful chemicals areused except phosphorus. The process ofmanufacturing these matchsticks is alsoeasier and cheaper than using conventionalwood. The need of heavy machinery forcutting logs of wood to suitable size is alsoeliminated.TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 535

36 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

Reversing the FlowAbout the AuthorPranjali ModakCREST,KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd.,Pune, IndiaAreasofInterestIntellectual Property Rights, PatentsTechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 537

I. IntroductionWe have always known global companiesinnovating for the developed countries toprovide best grade products without muchconsideration for the cost. Then, thecompanies globalize their products byeliminating the expensive features and downgradingthe existing products to low costproducts to be sold in the developing world.Until now, innovations were only for thedeveloped markets, as innovation being acostly affair was not worth for the emergingmarkets which have so little money.Innovating for the emerging markets makessense with increasing market volatility,recessions and global economic concerns.Due to the unstable markets and fluctuatingeconomy, now even customers from thedeveloped markets are looking for cheapersolutions and products. All the customers,whether from the developed markets or theemerging markets, have become costconscious and are looking for a right blend ofquality and cost. This change has given rise toan important concept called 'ReverseInnovation'. Reverse Innovation does exactlythe opposite. Reverse Innovation or trickle-upinnovation refers to innovating low costproducts/solutions for the emerging marketsand then bringing these to the developedcountries. The term was popularized byDartmouth professors Vijay Govindarajan andChris Tremble and GE's Jeffrey R. Immelt [1].Reverse innovation has recently emerged asan interesting concept.II. Reverse InnovationThe process of reverse innovation begins byfocusing on the needs of the emergingmarkets for low cost solutions. For developingproducts for the emerging markets having littlemoney, companies will have to apply frugalinnovation to ensure that the products areaffordable. Frugal innovation serves lowincomecustomers in the developingcountries. These frugal innovation productsfrom the developing countries are thenbrought into the developed countries withmodified offerings, under reverse innovation.Companies will have to focus on 'doing morewith less' by innovating cost-effectively. Lowcostproducts developed and testedspecifically for these markets may then besold with or without up-gradation in thedeveloped world. When frugal innovationaimed for emerging markets comes todeveloped countries and becomessuccessful, it is considered as reverseinnovation. Reverse innovation has nothing todo with where the innovators are, and it hasnothing to do with where the companies are. Ithas only to do with where the customers are[2]. Presently, most of the world's untappedbuying power is in the emerging markets ofAsia, South Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa andLatin America.The primary driver of reverse innovation is theincome gap between the emerging marketsand the developed countries. There is no wayto design a product for high per capita incomemass market and then simply adapt it andhope to capture the low per capita incomemarket. Companies need to specificallyinnovate for the low per capita income marketsand not just export. Buyers in emergingmarkets demand solutions on an entirelydifferent price-performance curve. They neednew high-tech solutions but at ultra-low costsand with a “good enough” quality [3]. Thus,there is no getting around from frugalinnovation to ensure developing ultra-low costand 'good enough' solutions for the emergingmarkets.For many years, companies have followed aglobal strategy-first innovate for homemarkets and then export, with or withoutmodifications, to address the other localmarket needs. This strategy has worked welluntil now. However, with growing importanceof reverse innovation, companies must realizethat they need to change their businessstrategy.38 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

strategy. In order to establish business inemerging markets, where most of the growthopportunities are concentrated, they nowneed to innovate for the emerging markets.III. ExamplesThere are many successful examples ofreverse innovation in various sectors, allaround us. Let us look at some of theseexamples[4]:A. GatoradeA doctor at the University of Florida workedwith a medical group in Bangladesh to helpwith epidemic outbreaks of cholera.Carbohydrate and sugar along with salt wasgiven to the patients for faster rehydration. Hethought if such treatment worked well forcholera patients, it would surely work forrehydration problems for the football players.He created the Gatorade drink to helprehydrate players of football team. As all of usknow, Gatorade has become a huge hit as asports drink.B. GE MAC 800The rural population in China could not affordexpensive health care. So, GE invented aUSD 15,000 portable ultrasound machine. Itwas later launched worldwide and hasgenerated over $250 million of global sales.C. Tata NanoTata Motors introduced the Tata Nano for thecost conscious customers in India in 2009.With this, Tata has unlocked a huge untappedmarket: cars for lower middle class Indians.Tata plans to take Nano to other emergingmarkets and to Europe and U.S.subsequently.D. Nestle NoodlesNestle developed a low-cost, low-fat driednoodle for rural India and Pakistan. Thesenoodles found a market in Australia and NewZealand as healthy and budget-friendlyalternative.E. John Deere TractorIn the developing countries, small pieces ofland are cultivated. John Deere developed asmall 35horsepower tractor customized forsuch lands. The John Deere tractor excelledon two characteristics- low price and fuelefficiency- and became a success.F. Levis DenizenLevi Strauss & Co. first brand launchedoutside of US was the denizen bran jeanslaunched in China, in 2010. With success, thebrand quickly spread to India, South Korea,Singapore and Pakistan markets. In July 2011,the brand began selling in the U.S. in Targetstores.G. Unilever & NestlePeople with low income in the emergingeconomies could not afford to buy standardsizes of coffee, toothpaste, creams, lotions,shampoo, etc. So, multinational companieslike Unilever and Nestle came out with singleservesachets priced at pennies per packet.After the 2008 financial crisis, Unileverdiscovered that the same approach workedwell with millions of recession hit consumers inGreece, Spain, and the US.H. HarmanHarman designed a completely newinfotainment system from scratch, for Chinaand India. This system had functionalitysimilar to their high-end products but at halfthe price and generated more than $3 billion innew business.I. Narayana HrudayalaNarayana Hrudayalaya Hospital does openheart surgery at a fraction of the cost of what ittakes elsewhere. It is pure innovation. Theyhave taken the manufacturing sector'sprinciples and applied them to healthcare.They buy world-class equipment's just like thebest hospitals buy, but they use it 20 timesmore. That drives the cost per unit down.IV. Implications and FutureDeveloping countries will become R&D labsfor breakthrough innovations in a wide rangeof industries, such as, low-cost automotiveand transportation, affordable medicalservices, health sector, energy and utilities,natural resources, low-cost housing, andmany others. Reverse innovations will benefitlowTechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013 539

income citizens and will likely disrupt manyU.S. industries in the years to come[5].Companies need to focus on frugal innovationto meet the increasing demand of low-costsolutions and products in the developingcountries. They need to adopt strategies forreverse innovation so that the western marketcan be satisfied with low-cost and adequatelevel of quality products. Companies have tooperate at multiple price points, with premiumproducts at high price in richer countries, whileproducing high-quality products at lower pricein poorer countries. Companies need torealize that they can earn the same or evenbetter margins and return on investment for alow-cost product designed for, say, China orIndia, than for a higher cost current product athome.To conclude, we feel that companies cannotignore the growing trend in reverse innovation.Maybe not in the immediate future, but slowlyand steadily the reverse innovation conceptwill hold ground as companies recognize thatmost of the developed country markets aresaturated. The emerging markets is where theuntapped opportunities lie and would be theplaces for companies to grow in future. To tapthe emerging markets and sustain in afluctuation economy, frugal innovation will playa very important role. They need to learn to'create the best, with the least resources' andeven price it low. It is easy to innovate whenyou have the best of resources, all the moneyyou want and when your customers are readyto pay any price for your product. However, it isa real challenge to innovate frugally- withlimited resources, limited money andextremely cost conscious customers. Frugalengineering and innovation would be a cruciala s p e c t o f t h e r e v e r s e i n n o v a t i o nphenomenon. Companies need to focus oncreating new business models, newdistribution systems and new businessstrategies to align with the reverse innovationphenomenon.For companies who wish to move along withthe changing market dynamics and succeedin the coming years, frugal and reverseinnovation is the way to go!References[1] “Reverse Innovation”, Wikipedia, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_innovation[2] Chris Trimble, “Reverse innovation and the emerging-market growth imperative”, Ivy Business Journal,March/April, 2012Available at: http://www.iveybusinessjournal.com/topics/innovation/reverse-innovation-and-the-emergingmarket-growth-imperative[3] Vijay Govindarajan, “How reverse innovation can change the world” Wharton, March 2012Available at: http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4678[4] Vivek Kaul, “Reverse innovation is not optional. It is oxygen'”,DNA India, April2012Available at: http://www.dnaindia.com/money/interview_reverse-innovation-is-not-optional-it-is-oxygen_1676369-3[5] Ravi Ramamurti, “Reverse innovation's big impact for consumers”Boston Globe, Dec 2012Available at: http://www.boston.com/business/blogs/global-business-hub/2012/12/reverse_innovat.html40 TechTalk@KPITCummins, Volume 6, Issue 2, 2013

About KPIT Cummins Infosystems LimitedKPIT Cummins partners with global automotive and semiconductorcorporations in bringing products faster to their target markets. We helpcustomers globalize their process and systems efficiently through a unique blendof domain-intensive technology and process expertise. As leaders in our space,we are singularly focused on co-creating technology products and solutions tohelp our customers become efficient, integrated, and innovative manufacturingenterprises. We have filed for 42 patents in the areas of Automotive Technology,Hybrid Vehicles, High Performance Computing, Driver Safety Systems, BatteryManagement System, and Semiconductors.About CRESTCenter for Research in Engineering Sciences and Technology (CREST) is focusedon innovation, technology, research and development in emerging technologies.Our vision is to build KPIT Cummins as the global leader in selected technologiesof interest, to enable free exchange of ideas, and to create an atmosphere ofinnovation throughout the company. CREST is now recognized and approvedR & D Center by the Dept. of Scientific and Industrial Research, India.. Thisjournal is an endeavor to bring you the latest in scientific research and technology.Invitation to Write ArticlesOur forthcoming issue to be released in October 2013 will be based on“Autonomous Vehicles” . We invite you to share your knowledge bycontributing to this journal.Format of the ArticlesYour original articles should be based on the central theme of “ AutonomousVehicles” . The length of the articles should be between 1200 to 1500 words.Appropriate references should be included at the end of the articles. All thepictures should be from public domain and of high resolution. Please include abrief write-up and a photograph of yourself along with the article. The last datefor submission of articles for the next issue is July 31, 2013.To send in your contributions, please write to crest@kpitcummins.com .To know more about us, log on to www.kpitcummins.com .SMKPIT CumminsInfosystems LimitedInnovation for customersYou can make a differenceinitiative

yTechTalk@KPITCummins Apr - June 2013“It is about getting more from less, for more and more people!”Dr. Raghunath Anant MashelkarBorn - 1 January 194335 & 36, Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park,Phase - 1, MIDC, Hinjawadi, Pune - 411 057, India.