IPR: Biotechnology and agriculture

Abstract

The Biotechnology and Agriculture Panel saw Indira Ramaswamy, Fellow student, IIMB, and TM D Nair, consultant and author, specialising in patents & WTO matters, biotechnology projects, R&D strategies and traditional systems of medicine, dis- cussing the opportunities and constraints of the bio- technology sector in India. Anindya Sircar of Biocon India, a registered patent attorney with patents in different countries, surveyed the philosophies of patenting, the off patent scene and the rationale behind what is patentable and what is not. Debashis Banerjee, Director, Baba Amte Centre for People’s Empowerment, at pains to clarify that he was a scientist and not an 'anti-technology back-to- nature romantic’, expressed his stance on recombinant DNA technology and genetically modified foods. A Damodaran, Professor, Indian Institute of Plantation Management who was a Visiting Professor at the University of Manitoba and whose research focal areas include trade and environment, IPRs and sustainable agriculture, spoke on the policy dimensions of plant bio- technology, IPRs on microorganisms and the issue of strategising.