Titan launches Design Awards with Tata Trusts to celebrate innovations that create social change

With key focus on building innovative product designs that resolve social issues, the award platform is a movement that advocates efficient and sustainable product design for social change. Titan’s Design:Impact Awards is a project-based grant award that aims to positively impact the underprivileged communities and needs of the society, by encouraging and inspiring bright minds to design for the benefit of the Indian society.

Open to innovators across India, Titan aims to identify and mentor product design innovators who would like to upscale their products’ reach to a larger community. The program will also recognize Grassroot Innovators, particularly who have been able to design creative product solutions for contextual problems at hand using whatever means available.

The grand jury panel for Titan’s Design:Impact Awards includes Dr. R.A. Mashelkar, one of India’s most eminent scientists and former Director General of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research; Prof. Anil Gupta, globally renowned grassroots innovations scholar and founder of the Honey Bee Network, Prof Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and pioneer in Industry Academia interaction towards R&D, Innovation and Product Development; Padma Shri V.R. Mehta, Trustee, Sir Dorabji Tata Trusts; Mr. Harish Bhat, Brand Custodian, Tata Sons and Mr. Ramji Raghavan, well-renowned India-based social innovator and entrepreneur and Founder and Chairman of Agastya International Foundation; and others.

Bhaskar Bhat, Managing Director, Titan Company Limited, said at the launch, “In the last 30 years, our efforts at Titan has been towards creating exemplary design for generations of Indians. Our partners, Tata Trusts, have been a catalyst in transformational change in India with a focus on sustainable development through innovation, since the early 1900s. Now, with the Design:Impact Awards, together we aim to celebrate product design that brings about social change. We will jointly use our design experience and social sector connect to help innovators make an impact wherever they are needed the most.”

Product design innovators and teams with prototyped and tested products are eligible to apply for the award and grant. Eligible entries are those that aim at resolving a social problem through a well-designed product or a system related with tangible/hard products. Innovators who finally qualify will be financially supported upto Rs 65 lakhs along with advocacy, recognition, and mentorship. At later stages, grant recipients will also be given the opportunity to apply for seed capital for further funding. Post the awards, Titan could also consider a multi-year support for some of the chosen grantees as part of its CSR strategy.

V.R. Mehta, Trustee, Sir Dorabji Tata Trusts, said at the launch, “Our partnership with Titan’s Design Impact Awards is part of Tata Trusts’ larger vision to demonstrate how technology and innovation can massively leverage the efforts to make a positive difference in the lives of the communities. As part of this initiative the Foundation for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship (FISE), Tata Trusts, and Titan, aim to tap entrepreneurs and innovators having a strong focus on addressing development sector challenges to create social change and remain engaged with them throughout their product lifecycle stages.”