India is an idea waiting to happen. Actually lots of ideas that are fast being converted to patents. As most developed countries have discovered, this is the hidden wealth of any country. This is our investment for the future and passport to becoming a truly global economic superpower instead of just a global sweatshop. We have always been proud of our brainpower and even suffered an enormous braindrain that has created wonders in the west. But now this brainpower is coming into fruition here in India. It is an important time for us as a country and we for this reason have devoted our annual issue to bring to the forefront this somewhat hidden revolution.

The evidence is hard to ignore. Indian companies, government-owned labs, and the local research centres of multinational companies have applied for 4,000 US patents in the past five years; at last count, some 50 MNCs had invested in research centres or labs in the country-and apart from every tech company worth its code, this includes the likes of GE, Astra Zeneca, and General Motors; and the international patents for drought-resistant seeds of several cereals is held by a Bangalore-based start-up.

Personally, I am thrilled. All through the 1980s and 1990s, the various media vehicles that are part of the India Today Group had reported on the software services revolution, the business process outsourcing boom, and the great outsourcing wave in manufacturing. While all these helped the Indian economy grow, there was this niggling feeling within me that maybe, just maybe, we were well on our way to become another exporter of cheap labour. Today it is us, tomorrow it would be Africa. Nothing unique. No global brands. Few ideas that can make a difference. Just millions of warm bodies slaving away to specifications set down by a customer in a far away land.

Events of the past two years have quelled such doubts. All around us, there is talk of Brand India. Apart from technology companies such as Infosys, Wipro, and TCS, pharmaceutical ones such as Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, and Aurobindo are going global, Tata Motors' cars are sold in Europe, and commodities giants such as Hindalco and Sterlite have established a global presence. Combined with the growing realisation that intellectual property (IP) equals competitive, and commercial advantage, this bodes well for the country.

We would be deluding ourselves if we believe there are no problems. The fruits of India's economic liberalisation are yet to reach the masses in any significant way; infrastructural constraints, especially those related to power, continue to choke industrial and economic growth; the quality of governance leaves a lot to be desired; and the government is yet to address key issues such as labour and agricultural reform. Still, there are bright spots: Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh and S.M. Krishna in Karnataka have formulated a model of governance that is revolutionary even by first-world standards. And companies such as HLL and ITC are pioneering ways to successfully connect India's vast rural economy with rest of India and the world. More than 80 per cent of the world's population lives in developing nations and if efforts such as these are successful, companies can replicate them to find customers in South Asia and deepest Africa.

At one level, the 12th Anniversary Issue of Business Today is all about ideas and ideators. At another, it is about revolutions. One such is the IP boom, captured in a first-ever nationwide survey of patent filings out of India. Another is the transformation of once-sleepy government laboratories, a legacy of our socialist past, into hothouses of research. And still another, the rush among global corporations to invest in research facilities in the country. There are more revolutions, big and small, that you will discover inside this issue.

Hope you have a Prosperous New Year and one full of new ideas.

AROON PURIE