'Why import engineering goods when we can make locally?'

Pune entrepreneur Shekhar Kulkarni has been promoting reverse engineering for many years and is keen on encouraging engineers to venture into it for successful entrepreneurship.

Indian companies import mechanical, engineering goods, instruments and machines worth crores of rupees every year.

Since these goods are not manufactured in India, they have to be imported from foreign manufacturers. Kulkarni decided to tap this market and got into manufacturing 80 such products through five factories. He shared his idea on scientific import substitution, based on reverse engineering, with DNA and explained why and how it should be exploited.

What is scientific import substitution?
We import many products that are off patents. These products can be scientifically manufactured in our country, that too legally. I am not suggesting copying products like China. What they are doing in China is poor copying. Instead we should look for local adaptation of the product while ensuring the quality remains intact.

There are many goods and machines that are off patents and are being imported. Why can’t we manufacture them here? Entrepreneurs should tap this huge market, study the goods, identify such products, see the market condition and venture into their manufacturing.

How is it beneficial?
The products that are being imported have a huge market. If they are off patents, it is completely legal to manufacture them locally. Complete data of all imports is available and entrepreneurs can choose from a variety of products in various services, industries and sectors. Since you already have a market for the product, the entrepreneur does not need to worry about its success. This is not the case when he goes for a new product. The greatest benefit is that it generates employment, reduces foreign exchange demand and also stimulates invention. This is not something new; rather countries like Japan, South Korea are doing it successfully. Verghese Kurien invented the process of making milk powder from buffalo milk; that is an example of import substitution.

You have visited various institutes to propagate the concept? How can we institutionalise it?
It is sad that educational institutions do not acknowledge it and no organised course is available on the subject. Students from some Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have been to my manufacturing units. The teachers in IITs are after innovation, but the success rate in innovation is not very high. A pioneer in import substitution is also an inventor. So why not encourage that? Not only IITians, but all those who have entrepreneurial skills can take this up.

Education should encourage this concept and students must be directed and trained in it so that it can be done in an organised fashion. I met several ministers and even urged many institutes. I am looking forward to collaborate with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) to see how the concept can be taken to more entrepreneurs.