Pune, May 20, 2014:  Entrepreneurs, academics and  IT leaders  based in this city have joined to create  i4C (Inter-Institutional Inclusive Innovations Centre)  a non-profit organization created to  support high potential innovations and make them market ready.
i4C is based on a  Public-Private-People-Media Partnership Model and is a joint effort of individuals, institutes and companies who share a common goal of promoting the culture of innovation in India.
The primary objective of i4C is to scout, showcase and mentor technology innovators and help them take to market innovations that have the potential to positively impact the quality of life of our citizens.
For starters, the founders have announced  the i4C Idea Challenge-2014, a pan-India Idea and Innovation competition to identify disruptive ideas for solving problems relevant to a large cross-section of our population. The i4C Idea Challenge-2014 is open for all and ideas can be submitted online at www.i4C.co.in till October 31, 2014.
Says  Anand Deshpande, Founding Director of i4C and Chairman and Managing Director of ther Pune headquartered  Persistent Systems:   “We have a large number of innovators in our country who have ideas that are simply outstanding.  It is our responsibility to build an eco-system to help these innovators take their ideas through various stages of development and to ensure that they can be mass-produced for the citizens of our country. I am delighted that i4C has made helping inventors its mission.”
Prominent members supporting i4C include Dr. Arun Jamkar, Vice Chancellor, MUHS, Nashik; Dr. Anand Deshpande, Chairman, CEO & MD, Persistent Systems; Pratima Kirloskar, President, Innovations Society, Kirloskar Brothers;   Ravi Pandit, Chairman & CEO, KPIT;  Hemant Joshi, Partner, Deloitte;   Ganesh Natarajan, Vice Chairman & CEO, Zensar;  Pramod Chaudhari, Executive Chairman, Praj Industries;   Vivek Sawant, Managing Director, Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL);   Anil Sahasrabuddhe, Director, College of Engineering Pune;  Sunil Karad, Executive Director, MIT;   Swati Mujumdar, Director of Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning and Principal Director of Symbiosis Open Education Society, Symbiosis;  Pradeep Bhargava, Director, Cummins India Ltd; Ajay Phatak, Vice President & Pune Center Head, Symphony Teleca;  Abhay Gadgil, Partner, PN Gadgil and Sons; and  Prataprao Pawar, Chairman, Sakal Media Group. More information here