Context:
Recently, the Principal Scientific Advisor announced that the ‘Deep Tech’ Policy was sent to the Union Cabinet for approval.
Background:
- In July 2023, the Union government introduced the ‘Draft National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP)’ for public input.
- This draft aims to establish a comprehensive policy framework to strengthen and support the Indian Deep Tech Startup Ecosystem.
- Presently, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry recognizes over 10,000 startups, spanning various sub-sectors within the deep tech domain.
About National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP):
The policy is strategically crafted to nurture innovation, propel economic growth, and facilitate societal progress through the effective deployment of research-driven deep-tech innovations.
It centres on empowering deep tech startups to bolster India’s financial stability, progress toward a knowledge-centric economy, and ultimately enhance overall productivity.
Its vision, dubbed “Deep Tech of India,” underscores safeguarding India’s economic future, seamlessly transitioning to a knowledge-driven economy, reinforcing national capability and sovereignty through self-reliance, and promoting ethical innovation.
Thematic Priorities:
- Emphasizes nurturing research, development, and innovation;
- Fortifying the intellectual property regime;
- Easing access to funding;
- Enabling shared infrastructure and resource sharing;
- Establishing conducive regulations, standards, and certifications; attracting human resources and fostering capacity building; and
- sustaining deep tech startups.
Significance:
- Nurturing the Research, Development & Innovation Ecosystem: To increase Gross Expenditure on R&D to revitalize basic research, development, and innovation, cultivating a robust science base for deep tech startups and fostering a pool of trained scientific human resources.
- Technology Commercialization: To foster innovation by facilitating partnerships between academic institutions, research labs, and industry, promoting technology commercialization in areas such as AI, Blockchain, biotechnology, drones, and quantum computing.
- Open Science and Data Sharing Platform: To advocate for establishing an Open Science and Data Sharing platform to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing among stakeholders to propel deep tech innovations.
- Strengthening India’s Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Regime: To establish a Single Window Platform for a Unified IP Framework customized for deep tech startups, guiding streamlining the patent application process.
- Strengthening Global Competitiveness: To enhance India’s position in global IP-related conventions, cross-border IP protection, and provisions in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), while establishing a mechanism for evaluating suitable amendments in the National IPR Policy.
- Enabling Shared Infrastructure and Resource Sharing: Access to shared infrastructure at nominal fees is proposed to reduce initial capital expenditure for startups.
Major Concerns:
- Insufficiency of funding for deep tech startups, with only 10% falling under this category, and a decrease in investments, particularly in late-stage funding.
- Additionally, challenges arise from competition with China, along with resource and infrastructure constraints, and understanding risks associated with frontier technologies.
Way Forward:
- International initiatives within the Indian Deep Tech Startup ecosystem, such as the Indo-US Joint Working Group on Artificial Intelligence (2020), and the Indo-Israel Deep Tech & Life Sciences Mission.
- The Indo-Japan Deep Tech & Startups Partnership can be effectively leveraged to advance deep tech endeavours in India.