News Brief
Commercialisation Of Indigenous Technologies Hampered By Awareness Deficit, High Initial Costs And Regulatory Hurdles: Government
A researcher working in a lab. (representative image) (Flickr/FDA).
Low industry awareness, high initial investment, regulatory hurdles, and the need for customisation are key challenges slowing the transfer of indigenous technologies from CSIR laboratories to Indian industries, the government told the Rajya Sabha on Thursday (3 April).
In a written reply, Union Minister of Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh said that 695 technologies with Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 and above have been developed by CSIR in the last five years.
These span sectors such as aerospace, biotechnology, food processing, healthcare, energy storage, building materials, and strategic industries.
"Over the past decade, CSIR has implemented several initiatives to facilitate the transfer of indigenous technologies developed by its constituent laboratories/institutes to industries," Singh said.
The minister noted that many industries remain reluctant to adopt new technologies due to high upfront costs, while others seek significant customisation, delaying commercialisation.
Regulatory constraints and gaps in scalability and market readiness further limit industrial uptake.
Singh said that the CSIR has rolled out a suite of initiatives to address these issues.
These include funding support for Fast Track Translation and Fast Track Commercialisation projects, greater emphasis on setting up of pilot plants at CSIR labs, simplified patent licensing processes, and discounted technology transfer fees for startups and MSMEs.
The government is also promoting wider industry engagement through awareness campaigns such as ‘One Week One Lab’ and ‘One Week One Theme’.
Business development cells in CSIR labs, incubation centres, and partnerships with industry bodies like Laghu Udyog Bharati are part of the broader strategy.
Additionally, CSIR has partnered with the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) to promote commercialisation and launched the CSIR India Technology Portal to make its technologies more accessible to potential industry partners.
