Number of patents by biotech dept drops by over 50 pc: Govt

The number of patents filed by the Department of Biotechnology dropped by more than 50 per cent in the last three years, a Parliamentary panel today said.
"The Committee observes that the number of patents (national) filed dropped from 70 in 2013-14 to 33 in 2015-16. Similarly, the number of patents filed (foreign) dipped from 18 in 2013-14 to 10 in 2015-16.
"The performance of the department has gone down considerably in the last three years both in terms of patents filed and granted," the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology said in a report tabled in Rajya Sabha.

The Committee also said the department does not have a mechanism to maintain data on patents filed or granted and emphasised on "galvanising" efforts to improve its performance.
The report stated that patent filing is one of the major indicators of the scientific achievements of the department in this field.
"The Committee recommends that the department should devise a mechanism to keep a record of the patents filed, both in India and abroad, by the institutions supported by the department," the report said.