Tax incentives and breaks for corporates and start-ups can help foster open innovation, says a report by NASSCOM. The study, which traces the state and challenges of open innovation in India, rolled out a series of recommendations that can foster this ecosystem in the country. The report revealed that incentivising innovation for start-ups and corporates can be a big game changer. Some of the other recommendations necessary to bring about change include fast tracking of patent applications, IP services and provision of plug-and-play infrastructure for open innovation projects. Additionally, the NASSCOM report also revealed that dedicated funding and budgets allocated for innovation programs can open several paths. One of the biggest challenges that hovers over the innovation ecosystem in India is that it is only limited to incubation centers. “Open innovation is currently only an incidental by-product from incubation programs and results are uncertain,” the report read. This needs to be transformed. How? The report explained that it is imperative to have incubation /acceleration programs designed for open innovation with clear targets of achieving “x” number of collaborative innovation projects every year. Innovation has always been a vital focus area for all stakeholders in the technology ecosystem, says Kritika Murugesan, Senior Director of 10,000 Start-ups, NASSCOM. “Open innovation is one of the best ways to build business technology, knowledge, technical expertise, IP products, and much more.” Murugesan also added that even though India’s open innovation ecosystem is still at a nascent stage, the country “with its vibrant technology landscape and impressive talent pool, is at the cusp of achieving greater heights in open innovation partnerships.” The report also noted that India, currently, has over 80 innovation programs set up by large Indian enterprises and MNCs, over 360 programs by academic institutions and over 85 programs by government agencies and industry associations.