ICRISAT celebrates World IP Day, forging new partnership with BITS Pilani
Media Release
In the lead-up to World Intellectual Property Day (26 April), the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) hosted a special event titled “Celebrating Innovation, Empowering the Future” at its Hyderabad campus. The event held on 22 April 2025, featured two key milestones: the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BITS Pilani and an IP licensing agreement with Eco-Paryavaran for ICRISAT’s Solar Water Hyacinth Harvester.
The event, which included a stakeholder discussion and a hands-on patent search workshop, brought together leaders from science, academia, and industry to underscore the role of intellectual property in fostering innovation, collaboration, and technology transfer.
MoU with BITS Pilani
Prof. V Ramgopal Rao, Vice Chancellor, BITS Pilani, emphasized the value of collaboration in unlocking the potential of patents and fostering deep-tech entrepreneurship:
"This MoU paves the way for cross-disciplinary innovation as BITS forays into the agriculture space. We plan to leverage our strengths in engineering, Artificial Intelligence, and start-ups to address critical agricultural and environmental challenges," said Prof. Rao.
Dr Himanshu Pathak, Director General, ICRISAT, highlighted the institute’s mission to serve smallholder farmers through innovation:
"Our IP strategy is not just about protecting crop and other innovations. It’s about building partnerships to deliver technologies to the farmers who need them most. This MoU can spark high-level innovation in the years ahead. As the Sanskrit saying goes, Gnanam Para Brahmam—knowledge is supreme. It grows when shared and diminishes when withheld. On World IP Day, our message is clear: protect, nurture, and share knowledge for the greater good," said Dr Pathak.
Dr Stanford Blade, Deputy Director General – Research and Innovation, ICRISAT, emphasized that legal protection incentivizes innovation and enables long-term investment and partnerships.
IP Licensing of the Solar Water Hyacinth Harvester
A standout feature of the celebrations was the technology showcase of the Solar Water Hyacinth Harvester, developed by ICRISAT to combat the spread of invasive aquatic weeds.
ICRISAT scientists Dr Ramesh Singh, Interim Research Program Director, Resilient Farm and Food Systems, noted that the harvester was developed and received an Industrial Design Grant within six months and is notable for its cost-effectiveness, replicability, and solar-powered eco-friendliness. Dr Aviraj Datta, Scientist – Wastewater Management, shared that field testing in a 5-acre pond in Puri, Odisha, showed the harvester could clear an acre of infestation in a single day with just two operators.
The technology will now be disseminated through an IP licensing agreement with Eco-Paryavaran.
"This is a strong example of lab-to-land research, co-creating climate-resilient solutions that turn waste to wealth. The water hyacinth problem is widespread across India, and our collaboration with ICRISAT enables us to deliver a scalable, sustainable, and globally adaptable solution," said Dr Sandeep Garg, Managing Director, ECO Group.
Technical Sessions and Workshops
In his opening remarks, Dr Surya Mani Tripathi, Global Head—Legal Services, ICRISAT, emphasized the importance of nurturing an institutional IP culture. The program included a stakeholder discussion on Building a Culture of Innovation: The Role of Institutional IP Policy. The discussions focused on IP policy frameworks across different sectors, highlighting the key elements that must be embedded in a policy to ensure its robustness and facilitate effective policy implementation.
The event concluded with a hands-on patent search workshop led by Dr P Lakshmi Santhi, Assistant Vice President, SCITECH Patent Art. The workshop was designed to help researchers and innovators leverage patent databases to strengthen their research work, whether by identifying research gaps, refining problem statements, or validating novelty. The case studies highlighted how patent searches can guide ongoing research in line with global innovation trends and inform both publication and filing strategies for the researchers.
ICRISAT's IP Office continues to play a pivotal role in fostering a culture of innovation at the institute by actively disseminating intellectual property awareness and providing hands-on support to scientists.
Jemima Mandapati