India, US to set up science & technology forum

BANGALORE: India and the US have signed an agreement to set up an Indo-US

science & technology (S&T) forum which will facilitate interaction of

government, academia and industry in science, technology and related areas.

Science & technology minister Murli Manohar Joshi and the US secretary of

state Madeline Albright signed the agreement. It hopes to focus on issues of

common concern and activities of mutual benefit in these areas. India and the US

are also to sign an agreement on information technology (IT) later this week in

Hyderabad.

A statement from the ministry of external affairs said the forum would

explore trends in science & technology and promote R&D, transfer of

technology and creation of a comprehensive electronic reference source for

Indo-US science & technology co-operation. The other areas the forum will

focus on are commissioning studies, reports & papers and assisting in the

facilitation and promotion of collaboration of projects. The forum will be a

non-profit society under the India Society Act, and will receive funds from

public and private sources. A governing body, comprising 7 members each from the

two countries, will provide guidance.

The forum also hinted that it would seek to raise funds from industry and

private sources in India and the US. The forum will use the interest earnings of

the US India Fund (USIF), originally derived from an agreement signed by India

and the US in ’87. USIF covered educational, cultural and scientific

co-operation. The concept of the Indo-US science forum was initiated in January

’98 after the 10-year-old US India Science Fund (USIF) ended. Efforts had been

then made to establish the forum but hurdles were created over the intellectual

property rights issue with the US providing a long annexure and list of

restrictions relating to IPR, which did not find favor with India.