Revision summary
TKDL puts classical Indian medical texts in a form patent examiners can search, so claims fail for lack of novelty. The Patents Act excludes traditional knowledge as such and limits evergreening of known substances. The Biological Diversity Act requires approval and benefit-sharing for many uses of Indian bio-resources and associated knowledge. Turmeric, neem, and Basmati disputes showed why a defensive library was built. Undocumented folk knowledge and a fair commercial share remain weaker than the patent shield.
Model answer
Introduction
Indian medicine — Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Yoga, folk healing — is old public knowledge. A firm that patents a turmeric wound use or a neem extract as a “new invention” can lock others out. India fights that with a defensive database, with what the Patents Act refuses to grant, and with biodiversity access rules. The aim is not to stop honest research. It is to stop biopiracy: private monopoly over what communities already knew.
Body
Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL)
- TKDL is a joint Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Ministry of AYUSH project. It transcribes formulations from classical texts into structured, searchable, multilingual records (including patent-examiner languages).
- India has access agreements with major patent offices (including the European Patent Office and others) so examiners can find prior art and refuse or narrow claims.
- This is defensive publication: the knowledge is documented so it is not “novel”. It does not by itself pay the village that kept the plant.
- Documented wins after earlier disputes: turmeric (wound healing), neem (fungicidal properties), and Basmati rice lines were fought in foreign offices; TKDL was built so the next examiner sees the text before a grant.
Patent law inside India
- Patents Act, 1970 (as amended): section 3(p) excludes an invention which in effect is traditional knowledge or an aggregation of known properties of traditionally known components.
- Section 3(d) blocks evergreening of known substances unless there is a new therapeutic efficacy — relevant when a firm slightly modifies a known plant isolate.
- Section 3(e) and other clauses limit mere admixtures. Pre-grant and post-grant opposition let CSIR, AYUSH, or public-interest groups challenge a claim.
- Disclosure of biological material and geographical origin in the application supports examination.
Biodiversity and community tools
- Biological Diversity Act, 2002: National Biodiversity Authority and State boards regulate access to Indian biological resources and associated knowledge; prior approval and benefit-sharing are required for certain research, patents, and commercial use, especially involving foreigners or specified firms.
- People’s Biodiversity Registers record local knowledge at panchayat scale — a grassroots prior-art layer if they are actually maintained.
- Geographical Indications (for example on some agricultural and traditional goods) protect names, not medical formulae, but they stop a foreign brand from capturing a place-linked product.
- Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit-sharing sits behind the same logic internationally.
Institutions and positive protection
- Ministry of AYUSH, pharmacopoeias, and research councils (CCRAS and others) standardise and clinically test, so the knowledge can be used as a public system, not only as a patent shield.
- Yoga and some well-known practices were also the target of foreign patent attempts; documentation and diplomatic protest were the response.
Limits and recommendations
- TKDL covers codified classical texts better than undocumented tribal medicine. Expand community registers with consent and benefit-sharing, not extraction.
- Defensive protection stops a bad patent; it does not create an Indian product or a royalty for the holder of the knowledge. Pair TKDL with NBA contracts and public-sector formulation brands.
- Watch evergreening of isolates and process patents that skirt 3(p).
- Harmonise speed of NBA clearance so genuine research is not driven underground while pirates still file abroad.
- Train more examiners on TKDL and keep the library updated in more languages and oral traditions (with ethics).
Flow diagram
flowchart TD TK[Traditional medical knowledge] --> TKDL[TKDL prior art] TK --> PA[Patents Act 3p 3d opposition] TK --> BDA[Biodiversity Act NBA ABS] TKDL --> X[Refuse biopiracy patent] PA --> X BDA --> SHARE[Benefit sharing]
Conclusion
India protects traditional medical knowledge mainly by TKDL prior art in foreign and Indian examination, by Patents Act exclusions such as section 3(p), by Biodiversity Act access and benefit-sharing, and by AYUSH documentation. Turmeric and neem taught the cost of arriving late. The remaining gap is undocumented community knowledge and a fair share when a real product is made — not only a refused patent.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
How can biotechnology help to improve the living standards of farmers?
Next question in the 2019 paper (Q16). View answer →
-
Does TKDL mean nobody can research Ayurvedic plants?
No. It means you cannot patent what the texts already teach. New, inventive, legally obtained work can still be filed, subject to biodiversity rules.
-
If a patent is refused, does the community get money?
Not from the refusal alone. Money requires a benefit-sharing agreement under the Biodiversity Act when a commercial product is actually made.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2019 · Q2 · GS III · 10 marks
Do you agree with the view that steady GDP growth and low inflation have left the Indian economy in good shape? Give reasons in support of your arguments. -
2019 · Q3 · GS III · 10 marks
How far is Integrated Farming System (IFS) helpful in sustaining agricultural production. -
2019 · Q4 · GS III · 10 marks
Elaborate the impact of National Watershed Project in increasing agricultural production from water-stressed areas. -
2019 · Q5 · GS III · 10 marks
How was India benefitted from the contributions of Sir M. Visvesvaraya and Dr. M. S. Swaminathan in the fields of water engineering and agricultural science respectively? -
2019 · Q6 · GS III · 10 marks
What is India's plan to have its own space station and how will it benefit our space programme? -
2019 · Q13 · GS III · 15 marks
What are the reformative steps taken by the Government to make food grain distribution system more effective? -
2018 · Q4 · GS III · 10 marks
Examine the role of supermarkets in supply chain management of fruits, vegetables and food items. How do they eliminate number of intermediaries? (150 Words, 10 Marks). -
2018 · Q5 · GS III · 10 marks
Discuss the work of 'Bose-Einstein Statistics' done by Prof. Satyendra Nath Bose and show how it revolutionized the field of Physics. (150 Words, 10 Marks).
More from this paper
Q1 · UPSC Mains 2019 · GS III · 10 marks
Enumerate the indirect taxes which have been subsumed in the goods and services tax (GST) in India. Also, comment on the revenue implications of the GST introduced in India since July 2017.
Government Budgeting
GST from 1 July 2017 subsumed central excise, service tax, CVD, SAD, VAT, CST, entry tax, luxury tax and related cesses. Petroleum products, alcohol for human consumption and electricity stay outside. Compensation Act 2017 gave States a 14 per cent floor over the 2015–16 base for five years. Early collections were uneven; later compliance rails raised monthly GST. Revenue will thicken if slabs shrink and petroleum enters GST in a phased way.
Q2 · UPSC Mains 2019 · GS III · 10 marks
Do you agree with the view that steady GDP growth and low inflation have left the Indian economy in good shape? Give reasons in support of your arguments.
Indian Economy
CPI near 4 per cent under the MPC was a real gain after 2016. A stretch of 7–8 per cent GDP did not survive as strength once 2018–19 slowed. PLFS unemployment near 6.1 per cent showed job-thin growth. IL&FS and NBFCs, weak capex, and rural demand were the missing tests. PM-KISAN and investment revival were needed; two headlines were not enough.
Q3 · UPSC Mains 2019 · GS III · 10 marks
How far is Integrated Farming System (IFS) helpful in sustaining agricultural production.
Indian Economy
IFS combines crops with livestock, trees or fish so waste becomes an input. It sustains output through soil organic matter, farm ponds, and year-round income. RAD, NMSA, RKVY and ICAR models are the public frame. PM-KISAN, PMFBY and PMKSY make the mix bankable and less risky. Limits are capital, extension, and markets; IFS is not a full substitute for procurement and water reform.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.