Lok Sabha Question No. 351 (STARRED), answered on 2015-12-23
Subject: Soft Loan for Research and Development
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: VIRENDRA  KUMAR

## DEPARTMENT OF SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*351 (TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.12.2015)

## SOFT LOAN FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

*351.  : DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Council  of  Scientific  and  Industrial  Research  is  providing soft loan for research and development under various schemes;
- (b) if so, the details of various schemes in this regard; and
- (c) the year-wise amount of loan provided during each of the last three years and the current year, scheme-wise and state-wise?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES

(Dr. Harsh Vardhan)

(a),(b)&(c):  A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

THE REPLY IN PURSUANCE OF THE STATEMENT MADE IN ANSWER TO THE LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  *351  BY  THE  HON'BLE  MINISTEROF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES.

## Part wise reply:

- (a) & (b) Yes, Madam. The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) is providing soft loan to companies  through  a scheme  entitled  New Millennium  Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (CSIR-NMITLI). Under the scheme, the R&D activities are supported in project mode. In a given project, the funding to a company is through soft loan and the funding to a publicly funded institution (National Laboratory/R&D Institution) is in the form of grant-in-aid. The project partners (Industry and National Laboratory/R&D Institution) work together synergistically, bringing in their complementary strengths to achieve the R&D objectives identified for a designated project. The project is monitored rigorously by the peers of the R&D domain. The knowledgebase (technologies/products/processes) developed through a project is commercialized by the partner company. The  loan  provided  to  the  company  carries  a  simple  interest  of  3%  per annum. The loan provided has to be returned in 10 installments.

The CSIR-NMITLI has helped Indian Industry in developing R&D capability and  capacity  in  select  technological  areas  in partnership with National Laboratories/R&D institutions. The R&D activities carried out under CSIRNMITLI have led to development of several technologies/products /processes.

The  gamut  of  R&D  efforts  under  CSIR-NMITLI  has  been  impressive.  It included:  cancer  genomics  and  proteomics;  5  &  25  KW  decentralized power packs; functional genomics in tea, mentha, ashwagandha, plants; meso-scale  modeling  for  monsoon  predictions;  versatile,  portable  PC based  software  for bioinformatics; biotechnology for replacing chemical process in leather sector; novel biotech therapeutic molecule -Lysostaphin; environmentally  secure  rare  earth  based  colorants  for surface coatings; novel molecular diagnostics for eye diseases; recombinant  approach  to  produce  -linolenic  acid  and  Docosahexanoic Acid (DHA) in sunflower and yeast; a PC based high-end 3D visualization platform for computational biology; genetic improvement of Ashwagandha; fuel  cells  based  on  hydrogen;  polymer  electrolyte  fuel  cell  stacks  for stationary  applications;  genetic  improvement  of  Jatropha  curcas;  tea polyphenols and their condensed products; integrated MicroPCR system

with in-situ identification; B-Type Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) for diagnosis and treatment of congestive heart failure; distributed video surveillance system;  vaccine  for  Johne's  disease;  'Vennfer'  -  unique  H.264  high conferencing solution  on  multipoint  network  transmission  protocol;  next  generation electric  car;  all-Fibre  Supercontinuum  Light  Source  with  application demonstration  on  spectroscopic  signature  detection;  nonclonable  ID technology  to  establish  authenticity  of  medical  products;  Diagnostic system for affordable, point of need testing to manage HIV and TB; System based  computational  model  of  skin;  SoleckshawLite  -  an  Innovative definition software based multiparty, multipoint video electrical green transport platform; and confocal microscope. Vaccine for Johne's Disease: Two formulations of vaccine against Johne's Disease  (occurring  in goat, sheep, cow and buffalo) - JD Oil and JD Gel which  can  be  used  as  prophylactic  as  well  as  therapeutic  have  been developed and approved for manufacturing by Drugs Controller General of India. Developed vaccine helps in saving economic losses due to disease which affects the health of the animals.  The diseased animals give much less  milk  and  loose  weight  significantly  that  leads  to  reduced  meat production.   Currently, there is only one approved vaccine for JD in the United States, Mycopar. It is a whole-cell bacteria consisting of inactivated Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (also known as MAP) mixed with an oil adjuvant. GUDAIR™ vaccine is available for control of  ovine  paratuberculosis in Australia. In UK, Vaccination has been used as an aid in the control of Johne's through imported vaccine under license. Due to difference in prevailing strain of MAP in India, imported vaccines are not effective. Thus, India has developed its own vaccine through CSIRNMITLI R&D effort. With this development, India has become part of elite group of countries who have technological capability to manufacture JD vaccine. This is a major contribution for economic growth of rural India particularly the farmers engaged in rearing of animals. MicroPCR: A battery operated hand held MicroPCR for diagnosis of various diseases  has  been  developed  and  commercialized.  The diseases which can  be  diagnosed  are:  Tuberculosis,  Malaria,  Dengue,  Chikungunya, Hepatitis  B  and  H1N1.  This  product  has  been  patented  in  over  100 countries.  Companies  like Cepheid, Alere, Epistem have products in the point-of-care  molecular  diagnostics  space.  Currently,  Cepheid's  Xpert MTB/RIF assay has seen wide scale implementation in the Africa and parts of  Asia  after  the  WHO  endorsed  its  use  for  detection  of  TB  and  drug resistance. Cepheid's test platform is priced at about USD 17,000 and its

test consumable is priced at USD 40 per test. Through subsidies of USD 40 million  from  the  Bill  &  Melinda  Gates  Foundation,  PEPFAR,  USAID,  and UNITAID; Cepheid's per test price is now USD 10. The MicroPCR developed through the CSIR-NMITLI R&D costs USD 6000 only and the test price is just  USD 12. This is a major contribution towards affordable healthcare. With  the  patent  in  over  100  countries,  MicroPCR  is  slated  for  global competition. Intelligent Video Surveillance Server (IVSS) system: Through CSIR-NMITLI, a complete Intelligent Video Surveillance Server (IVSS) system has been developed. The system has open architecture supporting a combination of analog,  IP  and  wireless  camera  and  the  solution  can  be  licensed independently  or  in  combination  with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs)  and  system  integrators.  Developed  ONVIF  1.02  (Open  Network Video Interface Forum) standards compliant software stack for both the camera  and  management  server  has  been  licensed  to  international customers.  The  company,  MindTree  has  been  able  to  establish  the Surveillance  Manager  (MindTree  Product)  brand  in  the  market  to  a reasonable  extent  and  several  System  Integrators  are  installing  its solution in India. MindTree has established its name as a leading provider of  white  labeled  Video  Surveillance  products  designed  for  the  Indian Market.  MindTree  has  established  presence  in  the  ONVIF  International standards forum. Broadband  Supercontinuum  Light  Source:  The  Supercontinuum  Light Source  using  the  Nonlinear  Photonic  Crystal Fiber (NPCF -developed by CSIR)  is  developed  through  CSIR-NMITLI.    This  is affordable technology and  is  creating  for  the  country  global  niches.  The  product  has  multiple applications in the field of high density medical imaging and bio-photonics, and different spectroscopic applications where broadband coherent light sources are used for spectral illumination selectively. Each component of the  broadband  source  behaves  as  laser  light.  The  product  is  globally competitive and is available at Rs. 16 to 18 Lakhs per unit which is 30 % less than the internationally available products. The target users are the research  laboratories,  medical  practitioners,  strategic  laboratories  and pharmaceutical industries. Confocal Microscope: This product is the world's first vertically integrated reflective type confocal microscope developed under CSIR-NMITLI. It has a broad band spectrum of operation (450nm to 2400nm). It uses Broadband Supercontinuum Light Source. Only two companies worldwide are having

the  Broadband  Confocal  Microscope  with  discrete  laser  light  sources. Time  resolve  and  fluorescence spectroscopy could be possible through this microscope that is extremely important for medical research. A large spectrum  of  samples  could  be  tested  by  using  one  such  confocal microscope. The cost for imported one is around Rs.4 crores, whereas the new product would sell for around Rs.1.25 crores.

Diagnostics for eye diseases: Under CSIR-NMITLI novel molecular diagnostics  for  eye  diseases  has  been  developed.  The  test  System  is named  as Syndrome Evaluation System  (SES).  The SES simultaneously detects in one sample and one single test all the 15 pathogens that are known to cause dangerous eye infections. Most commonly used methods are based on microbial culture and smears.  However, culturing takes long time. Beyond the very critical time after 72 hours by which time more than 60% patients lose vision. Thus, this development is boon for eye patients.

Dental  implant:  An  indigenous  dental  implant  has  been  designed  and developed on the basis of scientific rationale and experimentally optimized to  serve  the  treatment  needs  of  an  edentulous  or  partially  edentulous Indian patient.  The same is under clinical trials.

Green leather processing: Intervening in leather processing, CSIR-NMITLI has  brought  out  a  paradigm  shift  in  leather  manufacturing through bioprocessing as opposed to the currently used chemical processes.

NonClonableID  technology  for  medical  products:  A  novel  nonClonableID technology to address the unmet needs in medical product authentication and patient safety has been developed. The technology is for establishing product accountability through secured traceability from the point of origin to  the  point  of  dispensation,  authenticity  check  and  establishing  epedigree. Tangible benefits of the technology  in  improving  patient compliance to medications have also been demonstrated.

Fuel Cells:  Hydrogen provides an attractive method for generating clean energy with significant impact on the energy security of India. Recognizing the importance of decentralized Power Generation Systems for dispersed habitation in the country,  CSIR-NMITLI has developed and demonstrated 3.0  kW  PEFC  System  along  with  an  industrial  partner.  The  proposed system is expected to replace the DG Set used for telecom towers in India.

- (c) The  total  amount  of  soft  loan  provided  year-wise  to  companies,  during each of the last three years and the current year under NMITLI Scheme is given in the table.  CSIR-NMITLI does not provide the soft loan to States.

| Financial Year      |   Amount (Rs. in Crore) |
|---------------------|-------------------------|
| 2012-13             |                 20.0957 |
| 2013-14             |                 15.4823 |
| 2014-15             |                 12.9729 |
| 2015-16 (Till date) |                  5.4167 |

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