**Executive Summary**
On July 16, 2026, the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) and the CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This agreement formalizes CGPDTM's participation in the National Knowledge Resource Consortium (NKRC) to enhance access to global scientific, technical, and intellectual property information. The partnership aims to facilitate cost-effective resource sharing and improve the quality of patent administration and science policy research in India.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Consortium Membership and Resources**
* CGPDTM has officially joined the NKRC during its Silver Jubilee year, becoming one of 82 member institutions.
* Membership provides access to an extensive collection of electronic resources, including hundreds of international scholarly journals, standards, patent databases, and specialized research tools.
* The NKRC operates on a consortium model to negotiate national-level licenses, resulting in substantial cost savings for subscribing institutes.
* **Strategic Objectives**
* The collaboration seeks to strengthen patent examination, prior-art searches, and evidence-based decision-making through enhanced literature access.
* NKRC works in tandem with the "PM-One Nation One Subscription" initiative to provide seamless access to major e-resources.
* The agreement promotes optimal utilization of government resources through effective inter-organizational collaboration.
* **Broadened Areas of Cooperation**
* The partnership extends beyond resource sharing to include joint efforts in patent information services and intellectual property management.
* Collaborative activities will cover science communication, science policy research, capacity building, and digital knowledge management.
* The initiative is intended to evolve into a long-term strategic collaboration benefiting the broader national intellectual property ecosystem.
**Impact Analysis**
**Stakeholder: Office of the CGPDTM**
**Impact**
The office gains immediate access to high-quality scientific and bibliographic resources, which is expected to improve the accuracy and efficiency of patent examinations and prior-art searches.
**Action Required**
Integrate NKRC digital resources into daily administrative workflows and decision-making processes for patent and design evaluations.
**Stakeholder: CSIR-NIScPR and NKRC Team**
**Impact**
The consortium expands its reach and influence by incorporating a key regulatory body, further justifying the "One Nation One Subscription" model and enhancing national resource sharing.
**Action Required**
Provide the necessary governance framework, subscription support, and resource-sharing mechanisms to facilitate CGPDTM’s integration.
**Stakeholder: Researchers and Innovators**
**Impact**
They benefit from a more robust intellectual property ecosystem supported by well-informed regulators and improved dissemination of scientific information.
**Action Required**
Utilize the strengthened national IP framework and scientific communication channels to support research, innovation, and technological development.
Key Entities Referenced
National Knowledge Resource Consortium (NKRC): A consortium providing access to world-class scientific, technical, and intellectual property information resources to member institutions across India.
Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM): The primary regulatory body for intellectual property in India that joined the NKRC to enhance patent examination and prior-art searches.
CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR): The managing institution for the NKRC that signed the MoU to facilitate expanded access to global knowledge resources.
PM-One Nation One Subscription: A national initiative for providing access to major electronic resources that works in coordination with the NKRC for implementation.
Ministry of Science & Technology
CSIR-NIScPR and Office of CGPDTM signed
MoU to Strengthen Access to Global Knowledge
Resources through NKRC
प्रव तथ: 16 JUL 2026 5:45PM by PIB Delhi
In a significant step towards strengthening access to high-quality scientific, technical and intellectual
property information, the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks
(CGPDTM), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce &
Industry, Government of India, and the CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy
Research (CSIR-NIScPR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today for participation in the
National Knowledge Resource Consortium (NKRC).
The MoU signing ceremony was held at Saraswati Hall, Bouddhik Sampada Bhawan, Dwarka, New
Delhi, in the presence of senior officials from both organizations. The MoU was formally signed by Prof.
(Dr.) Unnat P. Pandit, Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM), and Dr. Geeta
Vani Rayasam, Director, CSIR-NIScPR.
The event commenced with a welcome to the dignitaries, followed by presentations highlighting the
activities of both organizations and the role of NKRC in providing seamless access to world-class
scientific and technical information resources.
In her address, Dr. Geetha Vani Rayasam, Director, CSIR-NIScPR, emphasized that the collaboration
extends beyond providing access to scholarly information through NKRC. She highlighted that both
organizations have immense potential to work together in areas such as patent information services,
intellectual property management, science communication, science policy research, capacity building,
digital knowledge management, and dissemination of scientific information. She expressed confidence
that the partnership would evolve into a long-term strategic collaboration benefiting researchers,
innovators, policymakers and the intellectual property ecosystem of the country. She also highlighted the
overview of CSIR-NIScPR, highlighting its contributions in science communication, scholarly publishing,
digital information management and science policy research. She also emphasized that it is high time for
government organizations to collaborate more effectively to ensure the optimal utilization of resources.
Delivering the keynote address, Prof. (Dr.) Unnat P. Pandit, Controller General of Patents, Designs and
Trade Marks, congratulated the NKRC team and CSIR-NIScPR for successfully managing and expanding
the National Knowledge Resource Consortium over the past 25 years. He described the collaboration as
particularly significant as CGPDTM joins NKRC during its Silver Jubilee year. He observed that
becoming a member of NKRC would enable CGPDTM to gain access to a large collection of high-quality
scientific, technical, patent and bibliographic resources while achieving substantial cost savings through
the consortium model. He further expressed optimism that the partnership would open avenues for
collaboration in several other areas of mutual interest, including intellectual property, innovation support
and knowledge services.A detailed presentation on the NKRC was delivered by Mr. Mukesh A. Pund, Head, Digital Information
Resources Division (DIRD) and Coordinator, NKRC. He outlined the evolution of NKRC over the last
twenty-five years, its governance framework, subscription model, resource-sharing mechanism, and its
role in negotiating national-level licenses for scientific information resources, which lead to significant
notional savings for subscribing institutes. NKRC also works together with PM-One Nation One
Subscription for implementation and providing access to major e-resources. The presentation highlighted
that NKRC currently serves 82 member institutions, including organizations under CSIR, the Department
of Science & Technology (DST), and the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). He also showcased the
extensive collection of electronic resources available through NKRC, including hundreds of international
scholarly journals, standards, patent databases, bibliographic databases and specialized research tools that
support scientific research, innovation and technological development across the country.
Ms. Geeta Kumari, Examiner of Patents & Designs, presented the importance and expected benefits of
NKRC membership for the Office of CGPDTM, emphasizing how enhanced access to global scientific
and technical literature would strengthen patent examination, prior-art searches and evidence-based
decision making.
The signing of the MoU marks the beginning of a new chapter of cooperation between the two premier
organizations. The ceremony was graced by the presence of senior officials from both organizations. The
collaboration is expected to strengthen access to global knowledge resources, enhance support for
intellectual property administration, facilitate informed decision-making through quality scientific
information, and promote future collaborations in research, innovation, science communication and
science policy.
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NKR/AK/AV
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