The Indian government has set up multiple institutional and national frameworks to commercialise technologies developed by government laboratories. This article provides details on the roles, achievements, and contributions of NRDC, CSIR, DBT, TDB, BIRAC, and DST in facilitating technology commercialisation.
The Government of India has established several institutional and national frameworks for the commercialisation of technologies developed by government laboratories and research institutions. The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), under the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, serves as the principal institutional vehicle for licensing, technology transfer, industry partnerships, and startup support.
Since its inception, NRDC has licensed technologies to over 5,100 entrepreneurs and assisted in filing more than 2,100 Intellectual Properties (IPs). It also supports patenting, feasibility studies, prototyping, pilot plants, and export of technologies to other countries.
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)’s guidelines for Technology Transfer and Utilisation of Knowledgebase are used in commercialisation across its constituent laboratories. The Department of Biotechnology’s (DBT) IP Guidelines 2023 provides a framework for commercialization of technologies developed by its research institutions. The IP is owned completely by the institutions and licensed through the institutional IP mechanisms, both through exclusive and non-exclusive mechanisms as per the guidance of the institutional IP committees.
Institutional mechanisms such as CSIR's Business Development Groups (BDGs), incubation centres, Technical Research Centres (TRCs) help in establishing collaborations between research institutions, investors and industry for commercialisation of technologies. The Technology Development Board (TDB) at the Department of Science and Technology has been providing equity or other modes of financial assistance for commercialisation of indigenous technologies.
The Biotechnology Industrial Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), under DBT, has set up a network of seven Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) to strengthen academia-industry linkages and IP/technology-transfer management. BIRAC has also established 94 biotechnology incubation/pre-incubation centres across 25 States/UTs.
In addition, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has set up 22 Technology Enabling Centres (TECs) to network researchers with institutions, laboratories and industry. Incubation centres have been set up at a few IITs.
Technologies developed, licensed, transferred and commercialised through CSIR, DBT and DST laboratories/institutions during the last three years are as under:
Source:
Press Information Bureau
