The Indian government has established comprehensive institutional and national frameworks for commercializing technologies developed by government laboratories and research institutions. The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) under the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research serves as the principal institutional vehicle for licensing, technology transfer, industry partnerships and startup support, having licensed technologies to over 5,100 entrepreneurs and assisted in filing more than 2,100 Intellectual Properties.
Multiple institutional mechanisms support technology commercialization, including CSIR's Business Development Groups, incubation centers, and Technical Research Centers. The Technology Development Board provides equity or financial assistance for indigenous technology commercialization. BIRAC has established a nationwide network of seven Technology Transfer Offices under the National Biopharma Mission and 94 biotechnology incubation/pre-incubation centers across 25 States/UTs. NRDC has operationalized outreach centers at Pune, Guwahati and Bhubaneswar for technology transfer support.
Technology licensing and commercialization data for the last three years shows CSIR licensed 233 technologies in 2025, 181 in 2024, and 293 in 2023, while commercializing/transferring 249, 144, and 59 technologies respectively. DBT licensed 24 technologies in 2025, 71 in 2024, and 25 in 2023, commercializing 12, 6, and 0 respectively. DST licensed 63 technologies in 2025, 62 in 2024, and 60 in 2023, commercializing 19, 12, and 5 respectively.
Startup creation and economic impact data reveals CSIR facilitated 148 startups through technology licensing, generating Rs. 142.67 lakh in royalty/premia income, attracting Rs. 246.60 lakh in investment, and creating employment for approximately 7,200 personnel. DBT's autonomous institutes facilitated creation of 34 startups in biomanufacturing, healthcare, agritech and medical devices/diagnostics, while NRDC supported 13 startups under the Technology Development, Validation & Commercialisation programme.
NRDC's licensing performance shows 42 licenses issued in 2023-24, 36 in 2024-25, and 28 in 2025-26. Income generation included upfront charges of Rs. 104.71 lakh (2023-24), Rs. 230.21 lakh (2024-25), and Rs. 123.85 lakh (2025-26), with royalty income of Rs. 324.11 lakh (2023-24), Rs. 81.60 lakh (2024-25), and Rs. 93.20 lakh (2025-26).
The Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor conducted performance evaluations in 2022 and 2025 of centrally funded R&D organisations in non-strategic sectors, assessing IP creation and technology transfer as Innovation Excellence Indicators for public funded R&D organizations.