The Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved “Extension of access to Traditional Digital Knowledge Library (TKDL) database to users, except Patent Offices”. Opening the TKDL database to users is an ambitious and far-sighted move by the Government of India. This will be a new dawn for India’s traditional knowledge as TKDL will drive research, development and innovation based on India’s valuable heritage in various fields. TKDL is also envisaged to be opened to inculcate thought and knowledge leadership through Bharatiya Gnana Parampara under New Education Policy 2020.
India’s traditional knowledge (TK) offers enormous potential to serve national and global needs, thereby providing societal benefits and economic growth. For example, the traditional systems of medicine and wellness from our country, namely Ayurveda. Siddha, Unani, Sowa Rigpa and Yoga serve the needs of people from India and abroad even today. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has also seen widespread use of Indian traditional medicines, whose benefits range from immune enhancement to symptom relief to antiviral activity. Earlier this year in April, the World Health Organization (WHO) established its first offshore Global Center for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in India. These demonstrate the continuing importance of traditional knowledge in addressing the world’s current and emerging needs.
Cabinet approval to expand access to the database beyond patent offices emphasizes the integration and co-optation of traditional knowledge with contemporary practices to boost innovation and trade. TKDL will function as an important source of TK information for pushing the boundaries of knowledge and technology. TKDL’s current content will facilitate wider adoption of Indian traditional medicines while encouraging new manufacturers and innovators to profitably build businesses based on our valuable knowledge heritage.
About TKDL: The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is a prior art database of Indian traditional knowledge established in 2001 jointly by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Indian Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy (ISM&H, now Ministry of AYUSH). The TKDL is the first of its kind worldwide and serves as an exemplary model for other nations. TKDL currently contains information from existing literature related to ISM such as Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Yoga. The information is documented in digitized format in five international languages, which are English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish.
TKDL provides information in languages and formats understandable to patent examiners at patent offices worldwide to prevent erroneous patent grants. Until now, access to the complete TKDL database for search and examination purposes is limited to 14 patent offices worldwide. This defensive protection through TKDL has been effective in protecting Indian traditional knowledge from misappropriation and is considered a global benchmark.
TKDL can cater to a large user base that would include businesses/companies {herbal healthcare (AYUSH, pharmaceuticals, phytopharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals), personal care and other FMCG}, research institutions: public and private; educational institutions: teachers and students; and others: ISM professionals, knowledge holders, patent holders and their legal representatives and government, among others. Access to the TKDL database would be through a paid subscription model with gradual opening to national and international users.
In the future, more information on Indian traditional knowledge from other domains will be added to the TKDL database from the perspective of “3P – Preservation. Protection and Promotion”. Fulfilling its primary mission of preventing wrongful patenting of Indian traditional knowledge, the TKDL database will also push creative minds to innovate for better, safer and more efficient solutions for a healthier and technology-enabled population. India’s rich heritage lays a solid foundation for more recent socio-economic development.
