NRDC and NCISM sign MoU to promote innovation, IP management and commercialization in Indian System of Medicine
NRDC and NCISM MoU for IP management, technology transfer and commercialization in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa
- NCISM regulates aspects of the Indian System of Medicine and has institutional channels such as Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (RIED) Cells through which collaboration can be facilitated.
- NRDC’s collaboration role includes IP protection facilitation, patent and trademark support, technology assessment and valuation, and licensing/technology transfer for commercialization.
What happened
NRDC and NCISM signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on innovation, intellectual property (IP) management, technology transfer and commercialization of research outcomes in the Indian System of Medicine. The MoU was exchanged between NRDC Chairman & Managing Director Cmde. Amit Rastogi (Retd.) and NCISM Chairperson Dr. Maneesha Kothekar, in the presence of the President of the Board of Ayurveda (BOA) and the President of the Board of Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa (BUSSR), along with other senior officials of NRDC and NCISM.
Background and earlier position
A UPSC framing can treat the NRDC–NCISM MoU as an institutional bridge between traditional medical research and modern commercialization workflows: IP protection, valuation, licensing, industry linkages and incubation/mentoring. The policy logic focuses on reducing the gap between evidence generation in NCISM-regulated settings and market-ready health products/services.
