CSIR to set up digital library on traditional knowledge

HYDERABAD: Indian researchers are all set to bring ancient science and modern

technology together hand in hand to record traditional remedies for posterity. A

Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is on the anvil, which will make

sure that Indian traditional know-how is safeguarded. Scientific knowledge is

often assumed to emerge from laboratories and universities, but Council of

Scientific and Industrial Research in New Delhi, India, is establishing a

digital library of the traditional knowledge developed by communities over

centuries.

"We are trying to bring ancient wisdom and modern science together and

create a synergy between the two, the result would surely help India regain its

past glory and wealth as well. The first phase is almost on the verge on

completion and it will be up and running by the end of this December,"

said, VK Gupta, Director at CSIR, New Delhi. He was in Hyderabad to deliver a

keynote address at the International conference on innovation and IPR strategy.

The library will record traditional treatments, and prevent them being

patented as novel ideas when they have been known for generations. The library

will also lead to scientific investigation into the traditional remedies,

including trials in animals and humans.

In 1996, there was a furor in India after a patent was filed in the US on the

wound-healing properties of turmeric, something that Indians have known for

centuries. A large part of the problem has been that patent offices have had no

way of searching through this kind of traditional knowledge. The digital library

will offer that facility and make sure that traditional knowledge of the country

be credited to India.

The panel putting the library together includes experts in the holistic

system of medicine from India known as Ayurveda. It also calls on people with

knowledge of intellectual property rights (IPR), as well as scholars who can

take the large body of information published in Sanskrit or Hindi and translate

it into English. "As of now we have more than 45 people working with us. It

includes scholars as well as software professionals," he added.

When compiled, TKDL would have documented the traditional knowledge available

in the public domain in a digitized format. Starting with the existing

literature in Ayurveda, it would later cover unani, siddha, naturopathy,

homeopathy and folklore medicine. In the first phase, a 'Traditional Knowledge

Resource Classification’ (TKRC) is being prepared for 2147 medicinal plants.

The content of TKDL would initially consist of about 35,000 'slokas' (verses)

from Ayurveda. These slokas gleaned from 14 ancient texts and recognized books

would be digitally transcribed into a readable form and made available both in

Indian and foreign languages.

TKDL would help patent examiners the world over to have a ready reference to

Indian traditional knowledge, while granting patents in such domains. The

project cost for TKDL is about Rs 1.18 crore. TKDL is an effort that brings

together the Department of ISM&H, CSIR and the Ministry of Commerce and

Industry.

Slokas from Ayurvedic texts are first identified. Each sloka is read and

converted into structured language using TKRC. TKRC is innovative in itself. The

TKRC classification has been evolved for about 5,000 subgroups as against one

group in file International Patent Classification (IPC) for traditional

knowledge.

The TKDL portal would be based on XML standards and would be

platform-independent. The codes for each sloka are fed into a data entry screen

and also saved on the database. Computer-savvy Ayurveda experts carry out the

data entry. These are then decoded in different languages.

The Ayurvedic formulations can be presently decoded in English, French, German,
Hindi, Japanese and Spanish. In future, it would be available in 20 foreign

languages and all Indian languages. The decoded format of the formulation is

easy to read and understand.

The online version of TKDL would include a Web-based search interface. This

would provide for a full text search and retrieval of traditional knowledge

information on IPC and keywords in multiple languages. TKRC would be an integral

part of TKDL and would provide a background on ayurvedic concepts, definitions

and scientific basis of Indian systems of medicine. In addition, it would carry

information on practitioners, hospitals and dispensaries. There are several

search features incorporated in the format.

According to Gupta, the TKDL software developed in-house does not do

transliteration but it does smart translation. Once abstracted, data from the

slokas are converted into several languages using Unicode meta data methodology.

The software developed can perform smart translation of botanical names and

ayurvedic descriptions from traditional terminology into modern terminology.

Scientists around the world would be able to make use of the library and

Gupta predicted that other countries, such as China, Indonesia and Latin

America, could also set up similar databases. In addition, the World

Intellectual Property Organization has set up a group involving the US, the

European Union, Japan, China and India to look at reform of international patent

classification.