MoU signed between MAPCOST and NIF Gandhinagar | 20 Jul 2023

Why in News?

On July 19, 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology (MAPCOST) Bhopal and the National Innovation Foundation Gandhinagar, under which the State Innovation Foundation will be formed in the state for mutual cooperation in various fields of grassroots innovation, science and technology between the two institutions.

Key Points:

• The MoU was signed by Dr. Anil Kothari, Director General, on behalf of Madhya Pradesh Council of Science & Technology and Dr. Arvind C. Ranade, Director, on behalf of National Innovation Foundation-India.
• The main objective of the MoU is to provide cooperation between the two institutions in research, innovation, intellectual property rights and academic level in science and technology.
• Director General of MAPCOST Dr. Anil Kothari informed that the State Innovation Foundation will be established in the state with the help of the National Innovation Foundation. Technical assistance will be taken from experts of NIF in this work.
• With the help of the State Innovation Foundation, a database of innovators of the state will be created and their products will be commercialized.
• With the help of State Innovation Foundation, a database of innovators of the state will be created and help will be provided in commercializing their products.
• Under the MoU, Innovation Foundation will provide a research guide for research work in the field of science and engineering. Technical expertise will be made available for grassroots innovations and awareness campaigns on intellectual property rights. Technical cooperation will be done to strengthen traditional knowledge.
• Similarly, research scholars will be provided with research instrumentation and library facilities available in both institutes. Both institutes can jointly submit project proposals for various schemes of the Central and State Governments.
• This MoU has been done for 3 years. Its duration can be extended by 2 more years. With this MoU, the innovators of the state will get a proper platform, with the help of which they will be able to convert their products into patents. For this they will be provided with proper technical advice and resources.
• Dr. Anil Kothari informed that there will be mutual cooperation between the two institutions in science popularization activities, programs and preparation of project proposals. Similarly, there will be an exchange in the field of scientific publication.
• He informed that mutual cooperation will be done in organizing study programmes, seminars, conferences etc. Along with this, a common exchange of information on scientific topics and issues will be done for innovative persons, inventors and researchers.