Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur organised the XIth Prof Kothari Memorial Lecture on the occasion of his birth anniversary. Prof Kothari was instrumental in the establishment of Defence Laboratory at Jodhpur way back in 1959. Since its inception, this laboratory has been contributing to the mitigation of hardships of the troops deployed in the arid deserts of Thar.

Dr RA Mashelkar, Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi delivered the lecture. The function was presided over by Mrs Naseem Bhatia, Vice-Chancellor of JNV University, Jodhpur. Dr Mashelkar spoke on "Launching of India's Innovation Movement."

Dr Mashelkar defined an innovator as a person who sees what everyone sees but gives a thought to what he sees. He quoted the example of late Dhirubhai Ambani who, from the position of a petrol pump attendant, rose to become a business tycoon. He dreamt and innovated and that was the secret of his success. Countries like Israel and Japan became what they are today due to their innovative approach. An innovator never thinks that his ideas cannot be materialised but works hard till the end. Innovation, according to Dr Mashelkar, could be classified into three categories viz, ‘Large-scale innovation’, ‘incremental innovation’ and ‘radical breakthrough’.

Green Revolution, White Revolution and Blue (Space) Revolution in India are the best examples of large-scale innovation. With a mere 450 million dollars, India had ventured into space. Dr Mashelkar added, "when competition forces us, we become better innovators as seen in the field of drugs and pharmaceuticals. Here, we find incremental innovation where the customer has a choice".

India is a country driven by innovations as in the case of Param Super Computer. When a foreign company refused to develop super computers for India, the country went ahead and developed its own which was more advanced and compact than expected. Surprised by this success, The Washington Post commented on its front page: "An Angry India Does It"! Even if one is not educated, still one could be an innovator. In villages, which are the real laboratories of life, the diligent farmers devise ways and means to innovate new methods of producing foodgrains and milk.

Today, Information Technology( IT) is regarded as the key to India's development. However, it is the Indian Talent (IT) that sets the course of India’s future. "If Indian dreams come true in the Silicon Valley, they may come true in the Indus Valley provided one rises above intolerance and mediocrity", Dr Mashelkar added in his concluding remarks.

Earlier, the Director, Defence Laboratory welcomed the guests. In her presidential address, Mrs Naseem Bhatia called for synergising the research activities of universities and defence laboratories.