Encouraging Innovation is the Key to Success for 'Make in India' If we really want India to start manufacturing for the world, our thrust should be on innovation, not just production.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "Make in India' initiative has caught many eyeballs for its potential to unleash India's latent manufacturing capability.

There has been much talk about the initiative and how this thrust can transform India's economy to the next level, much like a similar manufacturing boost transformed China in the 1980s. However, it is pertinent to point out here that in the 21st century, imitative manufacturing can yield only limited dividends.

If we really want India to start manufacturing for the world, our thrust should be on innovation, not just production.

Unfortunately, when it comes to earning patents at the international intellectual property regime, India lags much behind than much smaller nations, highlighting the lack of push and encouragement to innovation in this country.

Patents do not just recognize a new creation or innovation but also reserve the right of profit from the particular innovation to its licensees for several years.

This is why patents have become the new benchmark of innovation across the world. Unsurprisingly, US, Germany and Japan are the countries that have traditionally lead when it comes to patent registration, and India remains a laggard.

China, on the other hand, is the emerging leader in the field and in 2013 surpassed the USA in filing of new patent applications.

Innovation has always been the key to economic transformation. In the 18th century, the west, esp. the United Kingdom was home to the Industrial Revolution which boosted growth and brought about a transformation from subsistence to surplus production.

Their manufacturing sectors witnessed tremendous development as technological innovations fulfilled their domestic requirements at lesser costs. Further, they were also able to export their products all over the globe and thus earned handsome profits.

Investment on research and development helped their brands and products establish a foothold in both domestic and international markets.

Under the Make in India initiative, we need to infuse a fresh life not just in the manufacturing sector but also in innovation. Not just by manufacturing, but by manufacturing innovative products can we transform the Indian economy in this century.

This calls for a fresh thinking and long term vision. Short term benefits often dissuade Indian companies from investing in research and development, which requires greater gestational periods to yield results.

This is why most of the Indian success stories such as in pharmaceutical industry have come not from indigenous research but from manufacturing products that are exempt from process patents.

As far as the "Make in India' program is concerned, it has been started with a view to make India a favorable global destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Further, the program desires to catapult India and popularize it as a better FDI destination than economic giants USA and China.

Other objectives of the program involve job creation, technological investment and skill enhancement; some features that our country lacks dearly.

As far as India is concerned, the Make in India initiative has gathered a good response from both domestic and international markets. Optimists in India argue that the country has provided the world with several indigenous exports such as Yoga, the great Indian curry, etc but there is a huge paucity of "made in India' global brands and a lack of investment in the research and development sector has led to this situation.

Although big corporate houses like the Tatas and Reliance have their presence in the international markets, a lot more needs to be done by Indian brands to gain global dominance.

Bonita India, the leading Indian home utility maker and exporter, understands the vital need for innovation in today's changing times. This prompted us to invest money and energy in producing innovative products that would appeal to urban markets not just in India but across the world.

On the strength of its innovative and path breaking products, Bonita has able to capture a large part of the world market, and has already established presence in almost 50 countries. Apart from being a brand leader in India, it offers excellent quality products across with world under its own brand name, making the company one of the few Indian entities to go truly global.

The latest market to lap up to Bonita's products is Switzerland. Its massive range of 200+ products will be an added advantage in pursuit of this objective.

Bonita has gained path breaking reputation all over the globe and is indulged in fulfilling customers' requirements in USA, UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium, Netherlands, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, UAE & many other European countries. Moreover, along with India, the organization has warehouses in several overseas locations such as USA, Europe and UAE.

India needs to establish a strong presence in the world market if it wants to witness another round of economic transformation. If Indian brands don't play a significant role in the global village, the chances of India establishing itself as an economic superpower seem bleak.

However, brands like Bonita are changing the story with their international outlook and unsurpassable quality.

Bonita has witnessed tremendous growth within a short span of time and holds several patents on account of its innovative products. Further, it has also been awarded the reputed Finalist Award for Innovation from International House wares Association at the Chicago House wares Show.

Bonita aims to earn 30 patents under its brand name over the next few years. The brand desires to make the country proud and offer a fantastic boost to the "Make in India' campaign.