Technological Slips between the Cup and the Lip: Unlearnt Lessons from Inter-War Colonial Madras

Tyabji, Nasir (1995): Technological Slips between the Cup and the Lip: Unlearnt Lessons from Inter-War Colonial Madras. Published in: Economic and Political Weekly , Vol. 30, No. 30 : PE99-PE103.

Abstract

The establishment of the Government Industrial Institute in Madras in 1919 coincided with the development of chemical engineering as a distinct discipline at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It would thus be unhistorical to expect that ready made chemical engineering expertise would have been available to the Industrial Institute. However, other problems at diverse levels, raised by the history of the Institute remain unresolved to this day: the provision of venture capital, infant technology protection, and plain incomprehension of the issues involved. The case of the Industrial Institute clearly forms the prehistory of more recent lunges at self reliance.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Chemical Technology;Madras Presidency;industrial promotion;arrested development
• Subjects: N - Economic History > N6 - Manufacturing and Construction > N65 - Asia including Middle East; N - Economic History > N7 - Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services > N75 - Asia including Middle East; N - Economic History > N9 - Regional and Urban History > N95 - Asia including Middle East; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O32 - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Innovation ; Research and Development ; Technological Change ; Intellectual Property Rights > O38 - Government Policy

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Tyabji, Nasir (nd): The Genesis of Chemical Based Industrialisation: The Case of Oilseeds in Madras upto the Depression(mimeo). Working Paper No 93. Madras Institute of Development Studies, Madras.