Design has to be nurtured in India, says NID alumnus and ex-professor, MP Ranjan

The department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) has proved that it is incompetent to handle design and design education in India, despite design policies being formed in 2007, says NID alumnus and ex-professor, MP Ranjan, who has been part of NID for over four decades.

He believes, "The national design policies (NDP) formulated in 2007 are weak and cannot nurture design."However, it is not too late. If there is Rs60,000 crore set aside for science and technology annually, then can't 1% of that, Rs600 crore, be invested in design? Unless India invests in design and nurtures it, it will continue to remain under the radar," Ranjan said.
In his paper, 'Nature of design: The need for nurture in India today' which Ranjan is to present in Amsterdam by May-end, DIPP's inadequate role in supporting the design movement in India is highlighted.

Ranjan also says that, "There is need for urgent investments to spur research and development initiatives across many sectors of our economy. Design has to find interesting and appropriate answers to the pressing issues and concerns of our society. Unlike DIPP's agenda that centres design on industrial development alone."

"I feel we need to move far beyond the agenda of four NIDs which seems to be a way to harvest NID brand value of 50 years. Joint secretary, V Bhaskar, had told team Vision First that the government did not have any money for design and this was the only way forward. It is a shame for government to say so and it is time to change this impression. Unfortunately, government and DIPP have not made an assessment of the real brand value of NID and they may be selling NID to PPP without proper assessment or thought about this angle unless it could be another scam in the making," says Ranjan.

According to Ranjan, there are nearly 500 NRIs, includingeducationists, willing to come back, if the government hasthe right intentions while setting up the four new NIDs.