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April 28, 2021

Summary: 5th Draft Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy, 2021 (Ministry of Science & Technology)

Author: Krithika Muthuraman

In January 2021, the Ministry of Science & Technology released the 5th draft ‘Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy’. The draft policy was open to comments from stakeholders till January 31, 2021. The draft was finalized and released on the Ministry’s website after nearly 300 rounds of consultations with thousands of stakeholders distributed in terms of region, age, gender, education, economic status, etc. Part of the Government of India’s ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ vision, the aim of the draft policy is to build a self-reliant and strong indigenous ecosystem in the fields of Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI).

The draft policy proposes to inter alia strengthen R&D infrastructure in the country by setting up Higher Education Research Centres (HERCs), a central repository for information on the STI landscape, an open access system for scientific data and resources, and a uniform research and innovation framework at par with international standards.

Notably, the draft policy has recognized the need for Intellectual Property (IP) and suggested relevant measures to boost innovation, viz. IP creation by promotion of such innovation as well as by addressing the challenges in IP protection mechanisms. One such measure is the development of innovation clusters and technology parks which it proposes to leverage for collaborative activities and cost sharing. The second such measure is that of raising mass awareness and sensitizing young innovators and researchers about IP, and in specific, Patent filing and commercialization.

The priorities and framework of the policy have been stated to have a close cross-link with those of the National IPR Policy. In doing so, the draft policy has proposed to identify and address the current challenges in IPR protection and seeks to strengthen the IP regime by streamlining regulatory framework and addressing issues relating to patent management and filing, IP ownership, licensing, sharing, commercializing and transfer.

Another interesting proposal included in the Policy is that of integrating the Traditional Knowledge Systems into the overall education, research and innovation system to promote grassroot and sustainable innovations. Such innovations have also been encouraged by proposing institutional assistance in obtaining or asserting any legal claim (including Intellectual Property) in the said innovations. While the draft policy has gone in depth and included various aspects such as data governance, financial backing for the STI ecosystem, connecting entrepreneurship with research and innovation, etc., the instant summary has largely focused on the aspects addressing IP protection and related measures.

The draft policy can be accessed here:

https://dst.gov.in/sites/default/files/STIP_Doc_1.4_Dec2020.pdf

Disclaimer: Views, opinions, interpretations are solely those of the author, not of the firm (ALG India Law Offices LLP) nor reflective thereof. Author submissions are not checked for plagiarism or any other aspect before being posted.

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