As many as 16 technology projects, including two from Andhra Pradesh, in the areas of testing, tracking and treatment of COVID-19 have been selected for funding by the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC).
The technologies selected for support are in the areas of manufacture of test kits, sanitisers, ventilators, PPEs, masks and effluent treatment at COVID-19 hospitals which are a result of research conducted by universities and institutions.
The NRDC, an enterprise under DSIR, Union Ministry of Science and Technology, plays a vital role by acting like a bridge between industry and institutions by identifying viable innovations and giving them to entrepreneurs for taking up commercial production.
Proposals sought
The NRDC had invited proposals from innovators across the country under its DSIR grants-in-aid promotional programme for development of technologies for commercialisation (PDTC) for up-scaling the COVID-19-related technologies. “A three-member external technology expert committee short-listed the 16 projects from among 65 entries for funding based on their technical feasibility and relevance,” NRDC CMD H. Purushotham told The Hindu.
They include IIT, Delhi, Sahajanand Technologies Private Limited, IDEMI, Mumbai and INM Indian Navy, Mumbai. The two proposals from AP are atmospheric movable cabin alternative to PPE (SRIT, Anantapur) and high capacity disinfectant spraying machine with auto-retractable hose heel for use in large public spaces (Ramachandra College of Engineering, Eluru).
Early production
“We will fund the selected projects and the researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs have to begin the work for further development and commercial production at the earliest. Our second component is Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection and technology transfer and we help in the identification of prospective clients for commercialisation of the innovations developed by the research institutes. We are currently working with over 500 institutes, including private entities, for the technology transfer programme and have already filed about 2,000 patents and transferred about 5,000 technologies in India and abroad particularly to MSMEs and startups,” he said.
“The financial support is given for development of COVID-19 technologies in the area of tracking, testing and treatment, covering process scale up, pilot plant studies, validation/authentication of the product, registration of the product with regulatory authorities, conducting field trials and generation of toxicology data,” he added.