The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has initiated a new scheme to accelerate medical innovation by extending support to test and validate novel and highly creative ideas, even if they have high probability of failure.

The scheme, called Medical Innovation Fund, is open to council's scientists and the experiments if proved rewarding based on initial experience, the scope of the scheme will be enlarged by inviting joint proposals between ICMR laboratories on one hand and other scientific institutions or universities on the other.

The council has invited proposals from ICMR laboratories either individually or jointly with other ICMR institutes under the scheme, which would be carried out by ICMR institutes where basic infrastructure already existed, a spokesman of the council said.

The tenure of the project will be normally two years and it would be monitored on six monthly basis. The scheme aims to promote novel ideas on new targets, new diagnostics, diagnostic tools, non-invasive measuring devices, new separation techniques, development of new evaluation protocols and vitro-in vivo methods.

The projects are typically for testing these ideas within a fund of Rs 10,00,000/- each. If the idea is successful and results in international patent and protected, a personal award of Rs 20,000/ to Rs 1 lakh can be given.

``The proposal for concept proof should be prepared for the duration of two-three years. It should have commercial viability for four to six years and have relevance to the industry. Once the concept has been proven, a full project can be submitted to any of the funding agency,'' the spokesman said.