Date:26/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/11/26/stories/2006112608310500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Centre to table Bill on biotechnology soon

Staff Reporter

One-third of royalties of patented products for scientists

Bill to encourage scientists to create intellectual property

Government to fund research in private enterprises

Bangalore: The Union Government will introduce a Bill on biotechnology in the winter session of Parliament, which will legislate that one-third of the royalties of a patented product must go to the scientists involved in creating it, Union Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said here on Saturday.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Jubilant Organosys Discovery Centre, Mr. Sibal said this provision in the bill was to encourage scientists to create more intellectual property. One-third of the profits generated would be ploughed back into further development of the product and the rest would go to the institution involved in creating the product, he said.

The Government would fund up to Rs. 50 lakh in private enterprises in the pre-proof of concept stage and up to Rs. 10 crore in the proof of concept stage, Mr. Sibal said. The draft legislation has been put up on the Ministry website and comments from the public have been invited, he said.

"India is going to be a hub in the biotechnology and pharmacy sector very soon," Mr. Sibal said. The reason was that many multinational corporations were reaching out to "fertile havens" such as India where low cost economy and high quality human resources exist to form a unique combination.

The real question would, however, be whether we would be able to continue to provide human resources to cater to the needs of the world, he said.

On Sino-Indian partnership in the field of science and technology, Mr. Sibal said, in an interaction with reporters later, that the two countries would work together in the field of biotechnology, nanotechnology, climate and weather forecasting and environment.

"But at the heart of all this is collaboration in the field of information technology," he said. Marriage of China's hardware with India's software is on the anvil, he said.

China is far ahead of us in the field of computer hardware, as they were not denied the use of dual-use technology, he said. But India is moving forward in developing its own next generation computers in the near future, Mr. Sibal added.