The Centre is planning to set up an autonomous board of science and engineering research with enhanced level of funding and create an initial pool of over 1000 scientific positions available for young researchers in India and abroad at different laboratories and universities for high quality scientific research, according to Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Science and Technology.

There are plans to transform CSIR in a manner that it gets greater autonomy for bolder initiatives in fostering public-private partnerships and investing knowledge as equity. This transformation will be completed in 2006 and will make CSIR accountable and a performance-oriented organization, Sibal added.

The government is planning to put in place and give effect to a national biotechnology development strategy. This will allow creation of 50 centres of excellence, a national pool of 500 research positions in next five years, exclusively for life sciences and biotechnology and set up institutions of animal biotechnology and for translational research for technology relating to public health.

Sibal said, the Centre is proposing to establish regional clusters for developing linkages between industry and research institutions. The first such international cluster will be set up in Chandigarh, with a focus on nano-biology within a national nanotechnology institute.

Efforts are also being made to bring forth legislation to make IPR central in the functioning of research establishments. It will assure inventors and organizations where research is carried out, a return for their innovative efforts.