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| Abstract: Studies that focus on economic impacts of technology transfer from a public research institution to private firms are rare in India, a lacuna that this study tries to fill in. In the 1980s and 90s India was a low-income country and its medical device ecosystem was non-existent; it was then that a government lab in Kerala (an Indian state) embarked on a technology transfer process for two medical devices – blood bag and heart valve. This paper, using the contingent effectiveness model, traces out few of the impacts of these two technology transfers on the industry and the economy. The paper not only brings out the market impact and economic development but also their impact on the government lab and on recipient firms. Blood bag was transferred first to an entrepreneur led firm, understandably, it faced a lot of challenges. The entrepreneur used people’s competencies to overcome challenges and exploit the opportunity. Progressive outlook at the government lab coupled with learnings from blood bag process made the heart valve process smoother and efficient. We also note that scientific and technical human capital benefitted from the two processes. Higher demand for blood bags led to mushrooming of blood bag factories across the country, reducing imports and creating more forward and backward linkages. Policy insight from the analysis is that domestic development of products/processes having larger demand creates more economic opportunities.
About the speaker: Chidambaran G. Iyer is an engineer turned economist with more than 22 years of work experience. He has not only in worked in academics but also in consulting industry, policy research, and chemical industry. He researches issues in the intersection of technology, innovation, industry, and society. His recently published work focused on Indian mobile phone industry, process innovation in Indian low-tech industries, and diffusion of UPI and card payments in India. He is currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvanathapuram. |
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Date: Friday, 26th September 2025 from 3.30 PM onwards |