X
Business

India scouts for patents to hasten tech development

India will set aside US$3.58 million annually to acquire technologies to help fill innovation gaps that are hindering product development among small and midsize businesses.
Written by Jamie Yap, Contributor

India has identified six areas lacking innovation locally and will hunt for patented technology so that small and midsize businesses (SMBs) can speed up product development in these fields.

The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported Thursday the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) had pinpointed technological gaps impeding product development in the areas of affordable healthcare, low-cost diagnostics, solar energy, water, smart materials, and creating wealth out of waste or recycling.

For example, DSIR secretary Samir Brahmachari said its Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratories have come up with a technology to purify water contaminated with arsenic. But it does not have the means to dispose of the impurity to ensure the wastes do not re-enter the earth, he said. The CSIR is a research and development (R&D) organization under the DSIR.

Brahmachari said 200 million rupees (US$3.58 million) will be allocated annually to acquire patented technology as well as develop ideas with microenterprises and SMBs to help them scale up production.

"We will look across the world [to see if] there is any patent that is lying in some country that would bridge the gap. We can acquire such patents and give it to the micro, small and medium enterprise sector on a non-exclusive license basis," he said.

The secretary added if any company was keen to exclusively own a particular technology, they will have to pay for it.

Editorial standards