Anil K Gupta

Anil K Gupta at Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram

Anil Kumar Gupta is an Indian scholar in the area of grassroots innovations. He is the founder of the Honey Bee Network and has been a full-time Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Besides, he holds an Executive Vice Chair at the National Innovation Foundation. He is also a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He was awarded the Padma Shri in the year 2004, for his contributions to management education.

Upon finishing his bachelor's degree (Hons) in Agriculture, he went on to complete his Masters in Sciences (Biochemical Genetics) from Haryana Agricultural University in 1974. In 1986, he earned a PhD in Management from the Kurukshetra University.

His primary focus is on ensuring recognition, respect and reward for grassroots inventors, and protection of their Intellectual Property rights. His other research interests include the amalgamation of formal and informal science, ethical issues in conservation, and prosperity of biodiversity. Every summer and winter for more than twelve years, he has spent more than a week walking approximately 6000 km across India in order to learn from grassroots teachers as part of Shodh Yatra. Shodh Yatra, a second year course, is one of the most popular courses taught in IIM-Ahmedabad. Through the Honey Bee Network, he has aimed to demonstrate that the ideas and knowledge of economically poor people are important for the sustainable progress of developing countries.

Gupta has been a professor in Centre for Management in Agriculture, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad since 1981. Various positions held by him in IIM-A include Chairperson of Research and Publications, Chairperson of Ravi J Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation and Kasturbhai Lalbhai Chair in Entrepreneurship.

He is a Co-ordinator of SRISTI (Society for Research and Initiative for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions). He was a speaker at TEDIndia in November 2009.Since 2011, he is an advisor on issues pertaining to innovation, environment, and sustainability to Fair Observer, an online magazine covering global issues.

Gupta wrote the book ‘Grassroots Innovation: Minds on the Margin are not Marginal Minds’ in 2016. Published by Penguin Books India, the book is a compilation of his empirical research, carried out through the Shodh Yatras, on ingenious solutions and innovations crafted by common individuals, targeting local problems faced by local communities.