Atomic, defence, space units look for collaborations with private companies

India’s nuclear, space and defense laboratories will be tasked with identifying projects that can work and build with private companies and academia to strengthen the local innovation ecosystem, a science and technology policy bill released on Thursday said.

The potential experience of academics and industry professionals will be used to design and develop contracts with the necessary contracts to ensure that information is not disclosed for the benefit of the country.

“This is the general philosophy of the government to encourage industrial and research laboratories, academies to work together. The strategic laboratory itself cannot be aatmanirbhar (self-dependent) without contact with the outside world, ”Ashutosh Sharma, secretary of the Science and Technology Department, told ET.

“Some things work well by industry, some things (labs), knowledge doesn’t just exist in one place.”

Projects carried out by India’s strategic laboratories are often delayed or exceeded budgets due to the focus on home construction technologies and systems. They also find it difficult to outsource knowhou to private companies due to their lack of experience in the manufacturing process.

Sharma gave an example of how government laboratories, industry and academia have collaborated to produce a world-class ventilation device in three months during Covid-19.

“It offers a strategic lab, it becomes a collaborative project, and everyone draws on their experience and builds it more effectively,” Sharma said. The policy offers strategic organizations a clear plan for technology transfer for commercial applications so that startups and commercial firms can bring it to market.

“Each of these departments has a basket of products and technologies that can be commercialized. The policy will allow the structures to ensure that this synergy (along with the industry) continues, ”Sharma said.

The Indian Space Research Organization has identified more than 500 technologies that can be commercialized over the past few decades and has also submitted a draft technology transfer policy. The policy defines how sensitively binary technologies are used and emphasizes the need to comply with national and international law.

Isro President K Sivan said last month that the technology transfer policy was aimed at making it easier for Indian companies to acquire and build products and solutions. Lovebylife