Kolkata, Feb 27 (IANS): Expressing faith in India's ability to prove development and sustainable energy solutions can go hand in hand, Ramon Magsaysay recipient and social entrepreneur Harish Hande here on Saturday called for research linked to the field instead of paper, as is the norm.

"We need to come up with a research culture where research is linked to field. Today research is linked to paper. Professors are into publishing more papers. How many of your innovations have actually happened on the field? We should be benchmarked on that," Hande said in an interaction with media persons here.

Recognised for his efforts to put solar power technology in the hands of the poor, Hande, an IIT-Kharagpur alumnus, lamented the gap in tapping into the regional rural banking sector.

"What India has which many developing countries do not have is the fantastic infrastructure of financial institutions in rural area. Somewhere it will be efficient, somewhere not," he said on the sidelines of the Innovation 2016 conference here organised by business chamber CII.

Hande highlighted the need to "piggyback" on the RRBs and ITIs (Industrial Training Institutes) to trigger an energy revolution.

About energy, finance and market linkage, the founder of Solar Electric Light Company (SELCO) India stressed on the need for the country to adopt an aggressive stance in international negotiations.

"It is the only country which can create innovations where it can prove development and sustainable energy can go hand in hand without sacrificing each other. India should (rather than being defensive saying the West has been polluting) be aggressive and say awe are innovative, we can show how poverty can be removed in a sustainable way," Hande added.