'India should implement IPR laws to become dominant'

BANGALORE: To emerge as a globally dominant brand, India should implement strong copyright protection laws and bring about greater connectivity between research bodies in the US and India.
Delivering his keynote address at the second industry meeting of the Indo-US high technology co-operation group here on Wednesday, Dr R A Mashelkar, director-general, CSIR, said that the past few years had been characterised mainly by the human manpower base being built up by India in software, the emergence of Indian software as a global brand, and the country’s emergence as a global destination for research and development.
“This emergence should be consolidated with a strong IPR regime to show our commitment to the global economy,� he added. Outlining the various characteristics of India’s robust science and technology base, Mr Mashelkar said that India had passed through various revolutions, starting from food, milk and now space technology, supercomputing and information science.
The industry meeting of the Indo-US high technology co-operation group, organised by the CII and Ministry of External Affairs, has identified key areas of defence, IT and biotech for collaboration. Speaking on the occasion, foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal said that so far, trade between the two countries in the area of high technology had been below par.
However, there were good opportunities in defence, IT and biotech which could use India’s capabilities in science and technology and research, as well as the opportunities and capital offered by US markets, he added.
The objective of groups such as the Indo-US high technology co-operation group was to increase the Indo-US bandwidth so that high technology commerce can flow rapidly.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Kenneth Juster, US under-secretary of commerce, bureau of industry and security, Department of Commerce, said that the last few years had witnessed a transformation in the relationship between the two countries in the high-tech sector.
Dispelling misapprehensions about US trade barriers, Mr Juster said that in reality, the US had relaxed all sanctions against India, save perhaps a few licensing measures.
The Indo-US partnership should therefore be looked upon as a two-way street which would lead to overall growth, innovation and employment, he said.