Coming back to my blog after a very long time. Been busy with work and a baby at home. Lil one is now 8 months old and proving to be quite a handful ! Have had a few requests to keep the blog going ... didn't know it was really of use to anybody !
Been reading the National Design Policy (NDP) by Government of India.The Policy primarily seeks to
a) strengthen quality of design education at different levels,
b) encourage use of designs by small scale and cottage industries and crafts,
c) facilitating involvement of industry and designers in the development of the design profession,
d) branding and positioning of Indian design localy and globally,
e) enhancing design service exports,
f) creating an enabling environment that recognizes and rewards original designs.
Before taking a closer look at aspects of this policy, one is drawn to the closest parallel, of something similar that we had in our country. The Architect's Act 1972 , passed as an act of parliament for establishing minimum standards of education and, laying down roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders related to the profession, including the client.
A note of thanks would be in place for Ar. Piloo Moody. It was due to his hard work that this bill was introduced for the third time in the parliament in 1968 as private member's bill, and finally made into an act in 1972.
What the act essentially does for the profession is that it places the Architect on top of the pyramid, as far as building construction goes (for all buildings beyond a certain scale). It mandates that all agencies shall be selected / approved by the architect, all contracts shall be awarded by the architect, All bills shall be approved by the architect, the Architectural drawings shall take precedence over any consultant's drawing in case of variance, any variance shall also be brought to the notice of the architect before implementation. The act also mandates that in case of dispute between agencies or between agencies and the client, the Architect shall have powers of arbitration.( only unresolved disputes may go to the Council of Architects for arbitration).
Although there may be examples of people not going by the mandate of the Act, This act does provide an ecosystem for the architect to try and realize the true potential of a design. There are many examples of excellent design project where a gifted Designer has been able to do justice to the design conceptualized.
The NDP, sadly fails to do any of this for the Design profession. Many a times we are at the mercy of decision makers who have no understanding of design and the process of development. The NDP is vague in terms of the legal position of the designer in a project and fails to define roles and responsibilities for project stakeholders.
Taking a closer look at some of the issues in the NDP:
I fully endorse 'strengthening quality of design education'. I have been trying to update the courses that I teach as a visiting faculty for quite some time now. But the institute is surprisingly lethargic in responding to my request. It may not be a bad idea for the institute to get a nudge from big brother! am sure others may also share similar experiences in their dealings with institutes. In my interactions with the University, I am yet to find a mechanism to take on board meaningful suggestions and make adjustments in the course, especially for shortfalls coming up repeatedly in every jury and exam.
'Encourage use of designs by small scale and cottage industries and crafts'. I fail to understand this. Why small scale, whay not large scale ? If you look at the definition of MSME unit (Micro, Small and Medium scale industry), the upper limit ie. Medium scale is defined by the following:
1) For manufacturing industry - the investment in plant and machinery should be More than five crore rupees but not exceeding ten crore rupees.
2) For Service Industry - the investment in equipment should be More than two crore rupees but not exceeding five core rupees.
Well ! that means, the policy wont encourage penetration of design services into industries that has plant and machinery worth more than 10 crore rupees, which really is not much for the manufacturing sector. And, if the policy assumes that this segment is well exposed to design and development process and is known to invest in quality design services, I am sorry they are far removed from reality.
Chapter three of the NDP talks about 'Design Framework' and it states that , 'One of the primary objectives of India’s Industrial Policy is to enhance the
competitiveness of Indian industry. With a view to clearly identify the role that designs play in this process,the National Design Policy is guided by the following multipronged framework'.
It generally talks about raising standard of design education. Regulatory, and
institutional framework for promoting design, making India a hub for design exports etc.
One of the 'prongs' of this multi pronged framework talks about the 'Creation of original Indian designs in products and services drawing upon India’s rich craft traditions and cultural heritage'. At other places the NDP states that, ' India needs to aim at becoming a leading influencer of global design, especially Asian design.' and 'The National Design Policy intends to make India a major hub for exports and outsourcing of designs and creative process for achieving a ‘design-enabled innovative economy’.
OK ... 'Creation of original Indian designs in Products and Services drawing upon Indian craft traditions'... really ?! and that is going to make us an influencer of Asian Design ? and make India a hub for design exports ?
I remember a professor once stating that ' One bamboo delicately poised over the other is not industrial design, it may be beautiful though'.
Do we need a National Policy to state that Indian identity is to be sought in
crafts... and not elsewhere.... and what about creativity and free thought... design grows and prospers because there is always that next kid on the block with a fresh idea or a disruptive intervention, that defies entry barriers.
Guys we already have the Crafts Council, the Crafts Institutes and other
organizations to promote crafts and develop fresh products out of these old
traditions. Do we really need Industrial Designers to adopt traditional crafts as the mandated inspiration for their work... Is India defined only by crafts ...
A word of caution too : The NDP also talks about a Chartered Society of Designers and a Design Council. The council may have some essential role to play but the Chartered Society and the Council too in some measures may lead to Design Brahminism
! Dont need it !!
And in the end ... about IPR issues in the NDP.. while we encourage protection of intellectual property, we must also consider the contrarian view. Vast areas of human knowledge getting locked up in Patents. Patents being granted for all manner of trivial ideas. Patents getting approved on the basis of rudimentary drawings and specification that does not stand the test of operational/ user conditions. Companies being bought off solely for the purpose of gaining ownership of patents not for use but to avoid possibility of future litigation, and this in turn making products more expensive...
and ... kudos to Indian Government for standing up to the might of the pharma world and not allowing ever greening of old patents by tweaking the formulation and making essential drugs un-affordable for vast segments of the world population.
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