Working through laboratory/industry linkages: creating an enabling mechanism in CSIR India

Abstract

India's research base rests on its more than 260 universities and about 2500 recognized research and development (r&d) laboratories. Most of them, representing diverse science disciplines have linkages, both formal and informal with academia and industry. These linkages, established primarily because of increasing global competition, burgeoning research costs and rapid technological changes, have helped in synergisation of intellectual efforts, sharing of r&d results, pooling of resources, and availability of trained manpower. This case study details institutionalization of one such cooperative effort in which a laboratory of India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in a multilateral linkage with industrial units and government agencies has embarked upon a programme which integrates the technology upgradation and management needs of a cluster of small enterprises. Initiated under the Government of India's Upgradation of Technology (UPTECH) scheme this cooperative effort involving four major agencies, with one of them being the nodal one, is to be implemented in three phases over a two year period. It has well set goals and agreed output norms. The programme, which started six months ago, has already given results which do generate hope for the success of this large multilateral linkage programme. It also heralds a promise for hundreds of small industrial enterprises, which need to modernize in terms of process upgradation, environmental friendliness and reaching out to global markets by following cluster and participative management approaches.