What happened

The Government of India has outlined the institutional framework used to commercialise technologies developed by public laboratories and research institutions. The reply places the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) at the centre of licensing, technology transfer, industry partnerships and startup support.

The reply also describes complementary mechanisms inside the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Technology Development Board (TDB) and the Biotechnology Industrial Research Assistance Council (BIRAC).

Background and earlier position

India has long used public institutions to move laboratory research into industry. In this framework, NRDC acts as the principal licensing and transfer agency for government-developed technologies, while CSIR, DBT and DST operate their own internal commercialisation and intellectual-property mechanisms.

CSIR uses guidelines for Technology Transfer and Utilisation of Knowledgebase across its laboratories. DBT follows its IP Guidelines 2023, under which intellectual property remains fully owned by the research institution and can be licensed through institutional IP committees using exclusive or non-exclusive routes.

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