Creating technology leaders through NIMITLI

Launched in 2000, the New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NIMITLI) is the brainchild of Dr RA Mashelkar, director-general, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). " We have chosen the word ‘technology leadership’ deliberately," Mashelkar said.

For, it will remind us that we want to create an India, that will ‘lead’ and not ‘follow’, he said. " NIMITLI is a vehicle, therefore, for India to attain a global leadership position in niche areas, based on technology advantage, is by forging true team leadership with publicly funded institutions," Mashelkar asserted.

For the program, the government has allotted Rs 150 crore through the CSIR. In two years, over Rs 100 crore has been disbursed to a range of projects which will enhance the country’s technology leadership.

"Biotechnology is a major beneficiary of the NIMITLI with Rs 30-40 crore given to various projects in this sector," said Dr HR Bhojwani, emeritus scientist at CSIR and co-author of the NMITLI program. In fact, NIMITLI is emerging as one of the biggest funding mechanism for the biotech sector.

NMITLI has funded and monitored projects like the bioinformatics educational software development of Tata Consultancy Serives , and a new chemical molecule development with the help of the chemical industry. Gene marker identification initiated by the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, is funded in addition to other biotech/bioinformatics projects. Some of the other prominent project funded include defunctionalisation of carbohydrates as building blocks for the chemical industry of the future, sensitive nanoparticle based drug delivery system for specific therapeutics.

The mantra for NMITLI funding is short project cycle with high-risk low investment. So far 14 core projects involving over 110 research and development institutions/academia and about 45 industry partners have been catalyzed under this scheme. With this, the concept of generously funded time bound and a result oriented project has emerged.

" This is the biggest Indian knowledge network so far," Mashelkar said: " Most of these projects seek to usher in a complete new paradigm in technology perspective with support for risky ideas, daring and creativity."

" The NIMITLI has created a good platform by public private partnership for the development of biotech sector in the country. It will play a key role in growth of biotechnology in the country. It is a right step in the right direction," commented Avesthagen CEO Villoo Morawala Patell.