India and Russia have agreed to establish an Indo-Russian Technology Centre to provide an interface to Russian laboratories and Indian entrepreneurs to commercialise the scientific achievements of Russia on a profit sharing basis. An MoU in this regard is expected to be signed during the forthcoming visit of Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to Russia in December.

Informing this at a press conference, Kapil Sibal, Minister for Science and Technology said that the focus areas of technology transfer would include biotechnology among others. While the centre would come up in Russia, it would be manned by Indian experts. Indian entrepreneurs would be encouraged to approach the centre for possible technology transfer tie-ups.

The minister, who is back from a Russian visit, said that India has committed $ 75 - 100 million to intensify cooperation in cutting edge areas like biotechnology and nanotechnology. The minister said that his Russian counterpart has already expressed willingness to partner with India on the project.

As part of the programme inter-institutional linkages would be promoted. The two ministers also decided to encourage young scientists to undertake collaborative projects and to participate in workshops, conferences and seminars. To oversee the implementation of these as well as to review on-going scientific cooperation between two countries, a Science and Technology Steering Group has also been formed, the minister said.

Sibal informed that the Russian S&T Minister is likely to visit India to attend a FICCI biotech conference next month. The occasion would be used for bilateral talks on the technology transfer programme, he added.

The minister had visited Institute of Human Brain and had a first hand information on the ongoing research programme on epilepsy treatment, encephalitis vaccine and studies on HIV treatment through brain research during his tour.