The mid-term appraisal focuses on strengthening intellectual property awareness, aligning quality assurance systems for science and technology (S&T) to international norms, widening the innovation-base through supporting non-formal and grass-root level innovations, intensifying the funding of knowledge- and innovation-based industries, exploring and initiating export of S&T-based services, and and strengthening linkages among and between different players in the innovation chain.

As per the figures, only 48 per cent or Rs 5,771.26 crore of the Central sector S&T outlay of Rs 12,022.17 crore could be spent in the first three years of the Ninth Plan. The MTA does not expect the Plan outlay to be utilised.

In the areas of patent and protection of intellectual property rights, efforts have been made to create awareness among the scientists and technologists. The Patent Facilitating Centre (PFC) has been providing assistance in patenting to inventions emanating from university- and government-funded programmes. The PFC has set up seven patent information centres in different states under the aegis of state S&T councils.

The experience so far has been that while efforts there have worked towards creating an overall awareness, a fire-fighting approach seems to be prevailing so that the attention is more to prevent others in securing intellectual property rights on manifestly Indian products. More needs to be done to proactively encourage patenting.

India, with its large S&T capabilities and facilities, does not have any brand name or any technology that is being exploited on a large-scale in the international market. The MTA stresses that this situation needs to be reversed.

The Indian patents filed during 1997-99 were 575, much below the target of 900. However, foreign patents, at 206, exceeded the target of 175. The industrial production based on the knowledge base of the Council of Industrial & Scientific Research (CSIR) touched the figure of Rs 4,200 in 1998-99. This was 10 per cent above the figure of 1996-97.