India and Russia will sign a key agreement on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) to clear way for the wide-ranging exchange of technology during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's forthcoming visit to Moscow next month, Human Resources Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi said in Moscow. The IPR agreement will remove legal impediments in the transfer of technology between India and Russia, Joshi, who also holds the additional charge of Science and Technology Ministry, told Indian mediapersons in Moscow on his way to Paris to attend a UNESCO international meet on education.
Joshi arrived in Russia after receiving an honorary fellowship of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and Knighthood of Sciences and Arts in St Petersburg last week. The two sides have already approved the establishment of a joint Centre for Technology Transfer, which would identify promising technologies and help commercialise them, he said.
Joshi, who visited various scientific institutions in St Petersburg and held talks with the President of the Russian Science Academy in Moscow, said, "I see bright prospects for the Indo-Russian scientific and technological cooperation". The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and the Russian Ministry for Disaster Management and Emergency Situations are also expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding next month for the exchange of data and experience in forecasting natural calamities.
Bureau Report