Biotech Updates

India Sets up National Innovation Council

August 20, 2010

India's Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has approved the setting up of a National Innovation Council to prepare a road map for the Decade of Innovation 2010-2020. Dr. Sam Pitroda, an IT expert who helped revolutionize information and communication technologies in India in the late eighties, will lead a team of experts from S&T, industry, academia and administration to prepare a road map for the Decade of Innovation 2010-2020. He is currently serving as an Adviser to the Prime Minister on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations.

The Council has been given the mandate to evolve an Indian model of innovation focusing on inclusive growth and creating an appropriate ecosystem conducive to fostering inclusive innovation. It will delineate appropriate policy initiatives within the government required to spur innovation. In addition, It will promote the setting up of Sectoral Innovation Councils and State Innovation Councils. While encouraging all important sectors of the economy to innovate, it will take special efforts to facilitate innovation by micro small and medium enterprises. The Council will focus on public services delivery and encouraging multi-disciplinary and globally competitive approaches for innovations. 

In the recent past, the Ministry of Science and Technology drafted the National Innovation Act of 2008 to facilitate public, private or public- private partnership initiatives for building an innovation support system to encourage innovation, evolve a National Integrated Science and Technology Plan and codify and consolidate the law of confidentiality in aid of protecting confidential information, trade secrets and Innovation.

More information about the decade of innovation at the Prime Minister of India website at http://pmindia.nic.in/lprel.asp?id=1142 The draft National Innovation Act of 2008 is available at http://www.dst.gov.in/draftinnovationlaw.pdf

For more information about biotech developments in India contact b.choudhary@cgiar.org and k.gaur@cgiar.org