To realise its goal, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is in talks with the State Bank of India to pick up stake in a company it has established in Pune to help MSME sector to start spin-off companies using technologies developed by its chain of 37 laboratories.
"We are in talks with SBI Ventures on how they can partner with us and provide cash flows for starting spin-off companies using CSIR technologies," CSIR Director General Samir Kumar Brahmachari told PTI here.
CSIR Tech will sell or license technologies developed by CSIR and raise a corpus to incubate companies.
"We have started CSIR Tech Private Limited to hold equity for the technologies we create. The new venture will help us in valuation of our contribution," he said.
CSIR, India's largest network of state-funded research laboratories, holds nearly 4,000 patents, including those registered in the country and abroad.
One of the main objectives of the company is surveying and mining of scientific capabilities and intellectual property residing in CSIR labs that can be translated into products and services of value, Brahmachari said.
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Setting up of spin off companies and having large licence deals can lead to nurturing entrepreneurship which in turn can help create jobs, he said.
Eminent economist Vijay Kelkar is the Chairman of the Board of CSIR Tech Private Limited which has entrepreneurs T V Mohandas Pai, Saurabh Srivastava and private equity professional Luis Miranda as members.
CSIR Tech recently appointed Amitabh Shrivastava as its Chief Executive Officer.
Over 70 years of its existence, CSIR labs have developed a range of products ranging from the indelible ink used during elections to head up display for combat aircraft.
CSIR's Mysore-based Central Food Technology Research Institute played a key role in the 1950s in developing a formula for making baby food using buffalo milk.
CSIR's National Metallurgical Laboratory is working on a USD 100 million project along with industry partners to develop electrical steel, used in the manufacture of electrical products, like transformers.
In affordable healthcare, the entire thrombolytics drugs which help dissolve blood clots is a key area of research for CSIR, Brahmachari said.