| source Business standard New patenting norms may put India's software innovation into sleep mode |
|
New Delhi, 23 December Patenting of software applications could virtually become impossible in the country if the draft guidelines on computerrelated innovation come into force. The rules, the first ever for software applications in the country, were recently issued by the patent office and mandate each new software to be "machine- specific" and packaged with " new hardware" to qualify for a licence. Technology experts argue the guidelines defeat the very objective of most software applications —to be hardware agnostic and interoperable. Also, implementing such a premise for software patenting may force Indian companies to file for patents abroad and adversely affect multinational technology companies' Ron Somers, president of the are not only inconsistent like the European Union, the US and Japan but run contradictory to India's own international trade obligations. " We Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs)," he told the Indian Patent Office in a signed letter, reviewed by Business Standard. It is imperative for high- value services and products to be patented. This protects the 'idea' against theft, besides acting as a crucial differentiator in an industry that is becoming highly competitive, say experts. " The software ecosystem in the country is just about taking off right now and such guidelines could scuttle it in its infancy," said Vipin Aggarwal, chair of the Business Software Alliance's ( BSA's) India committee for 2013. Industry associations like BSA and Nasscom, along with companies like TCS, have put in representations before the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks, calling the guidelines " restrictive" and a " hindrance" to the patent regime in India. Turn to Page 20 > |
| Click: Article continued from…New patenting norms may put India's |
| New patenting norms may put India's software innovation into sleep mode |
|
Patents related to electronic and telecom products have also seen a significant jump. Scores of technology start- ups getting born each day are finding alot of interest from angel investors and venture capital funds, too. According to Nasscom statistics, " the number of patents filed by Indian IT organisations grew at an annual rate of 78 per cent over the past three years and the cumulative patent filing by top three Indian IT companies increased to 858 in 2012 from 150 in 2009". Industry associations like BSA and Nasscom, along with companies like TCS, have put in representations before the Controller General of Patents Designs and Trademarks, calling the guidelines " restrictive" and a "hindrance" to the patent regime in India. Seeking amends, Nasscom said in its representation that the " nonewhardware- no patent" approach, if adopted, would render all software- based innovations non- patentable. "This will not only erode the competitiveness of companies with primary business in India but, over a period, discourage innovative activities from being carried out in India." Most Indian companies were already obtaining patent protection for their products in the US and EU jurisdictions, it added. " The patent ecosystem in India should nurture the software industry by adopting a receptive approach to establish a culture of innovation." BSA is of the view that the norms would have a " deleterious effect on the emerging software sector in India, as well as on investment in the country from multinational software companies." Allowing patents for hardware but not software encourages development and implementation in hardware instead of software. " So, it is strange to encourage old technology and not a new one - the very opposite of the purpose of the patent system." An official of the Indian Patent Office said the guidelines had been prepared in line with the recommendations of Parliaments standing committee. However, it had received feedback on the rules from various bodies and would "review" the concerns. According to experts, the guidelines do not appear to be consistent with TRIPs Article 27.1, which relates to the patentability of computer- related inventions and says patents shall be available for inventions in all fields of technology, assuming they satisfy the other criteria for patentability, such as novelty, inventive step and industrial application. However, an IPR expert points out that most companies are perturbed with the term computer programme "per se" used in the draft guidelines and, though they may not violate the agreement, the suggested rules add to the existing ambiguity around patenting software applications in India. The Indian IT industry had seen a rapid growth over the past decade and a balanced approach to patentability of computer- implemented inventions, in line with the practice in other major patenting jurisdictions, would further boost growth, especially in software, said Somers in his remark. "We encourage further thought to be given to the guidelines and Indias obligations with respect to Article 27 of the TRIPs agreement." (Nayanima Basu contributed to this report) According to Nasscom statistics, the number of patents filed by Indian IT organisations grew at an annual rate of 78 per cent over the past three years and the cumulative patent filing by top three Indian IT companies increased to 858 in 2012 |
| FinMin asks all public sector lenders to act as insurance brokers |
|
Mumbai, 23 December In major relief to insurance companies without bancassurance partners, the finance ministry has asked all public sector banks to act as insurance brokers to boost insurance penetration in the country. Currently, insurance penetration (the ratio of the percentage of total insurance premia to gross domestic product) is about five per cent. In a December 20 circular to the chief executives of all public sector banks, the ministry said these banks should leverage their branch network for insurance penetration. "You are requested to implement the spirit of the Budget announcement within the framework of guidelines by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) and RBI ( Reserve Bank of India) in this regard, under intimation to this department ( Department of Financial Services) by January 15, 2014," said the circular. In his Budget speech, Finance Minister P Chidambaram had allowed banks to act as insurance brokers. Irda has already brought out guidelines for banks to become brokers, subject to approval of RBI. Those without bank partners welcomed the move. The chief executive of a large non- bank promoted insurer said this would give more choice to customers. " But we need to wait and watch on whether all banks will agree to this proposal," the executive added. The circular also said the corporate agency model should be done away with and each bank had to train and orient its staff to conform to the finance minister's Budget announcement. Currently, bancassurance follows the corporate agency model, through which abank can only tie up with one life, one nonlife and one health insurer to sell their insurance products. Therefore, non- bank promoted insurance companies and late entrants to the insurance sector do not have any bank partner to sell their policies. In November, RBI had brought out draft guidelines for banks to become insurance brokers. It had said for this, banks needed net worth of at least ₹ 500 crore and net non- performing assets below three per cent. This, industry experts said, dissuaded smaller banks from becoming insurance brokers. Insurers with public sector bank partners had mixed views on the ministry's announcement. A senior official with a life insurance company promoted by a public sector bank said while this would make banks more responsible, existing shareholder agreements might have to be revised. "Further, banks may choose to only expand broking in urban areas to justify their costs, which defies the purpose of insurance penetration envisaged by the finance minister," said the official. He added there should have been more discussions with the industry on the matter. Concerns of public sector bankled insurers include large corporatebacked insurers being able to attract big public sector banks, bank staff not being able to understand the structure of various insurance products sold by the bank and insurers not willing to help train bank staff. As an insurance broker, a bank is liable to consumers, in terms of an insurance policy, unlike a corporate agent. The liability is high, especially as the bank will sell products of multiple insurers. Currently, insurance penetration (the ratio of the percentage of total insurance premia to gross domestic product) is about five per cent |
| From chartered accountant to drug manufacturer |
|
KOMAL AMIT GERA CHANDIGARH, 23 December In the late 1980s, when the Indian economy had yet to open its doors to foreign direct investment in the pharmaceuticals sector, and few indigenous drug manufacturers understood the significance of intellectual property, ayoung chartered accountant decided to try his luck in the industry's bulk drugs segment. It was while auditing a pharma company in 1988 that Pawan Chaudhary, a novice chartered accountant then aged 25, decided to start his own venture. A first- generation entrepreneur, Chaudhary secured funds from his family as well as from banks to set up Venus Glucose Private Limited at Panchkula, in Haryana. A five- year stint ( from July 1989 to September 1994) in manufacturing intravenous solutions in large volumes under the brand Venus Glucose Private Limited prepared Chaudhary for diversification into small- volume parenteral injectables. "When I started the company, in a short span I realised that the Indian pharmaceutical market was bereft of professionals who understood the significance of intellectual property and immensely high standards of manufacturing drugs in the developed countries," says Chaudhary. Then came the liberalisation of the Indian economy in 1991, followed by the entry of world- class pharmaceutical players. This marginalised many companies that lacked good manufacturing practices. Venus then switched from large- volume parenteral injectables to small- volume parenterals and the company was renamed Venus Remedies Limited in September 1991. The company developed a generic portfolio of antibiotics, painkillers ( in liquid and dry powder form) and anti- cancer drugs. Banks were supportive and Chaudhary's financial savvy helped him make all the right moves in the market at the right time. The business was growing but there were hiccups. Chaudary says that a first- generation entrepreneur does not have easy acceptability in the business fraternity. Even senior officials in Drug Controller's office tried to dissuade him from manufacturing drugs, which they said would be beyond him, he claims. Chaudhary, however, was keen on creating intellectual wealth and working in an environment driven by research and development. From 2001 on Venus started investing in R& D and filed its first patent for Elores, an antibiotic. The patent was granted in 2010. Today, it has a basket of 90 patents and 280 more — for 13 products — are in the pipeline. The company was reckoned as a small- scale unit until 2005, and thereafter graduated to a mediumsized company. Venus Glucose's overseas journey started in 2005 and its first destination was Ukraine. Ronem Meropanam is the flagship product ( a high- end antibiotic) of the company, selling in 25 countries. Chaudhary envisions adding 20 more countries to the company's existing 40 markets over the next two years. The global expansion will take place simultaneously with domestic expansion plans that include the setting up of a Global Marketing Centre at Dappar on the ChandigarhAmbala Highway. " We expect to inaugurate phase one of the new marketing office by April 2014 and to create a marketing team of 500 persons to support our international operations," he says. The Dappar facility will have a covered area of 170,000 square feet. Venus has nine facilities, one in Panchkula and eight in Baddi in Himachal Pradesh (there is also a R& D centre at Baddi). Chaudhary believes there is tremendous scope for R& D in anti- microbial resistance, and Venus aims to create strengths in this segment. "Our R& D team is working on the third phase of clinical trials of the ' Image Technology' of cancer detection, which may be a breakthrough in cancer treatment. The existing technologies affect the good cells along with the affected cells, making the treatment less effective," he adds. Pawan Chaudhary, CMD of Venus Glucose, hopes to add 20 more countries to his global clientele |
Source Business line
Your insurance policy will cost more from Jan 1
HYDERABAD, DEC 23: From January 1, your insurance policy will get costlier as the Government widens its service tax net to cover the policy premiums paid. With this, premiums being paid by the policyholders of Life Insurance Corporation, will go up. Most private insurers had already started collecting service tax separately. "Confirming the separate collection of service tax, A.K. Sahoo, Executive Director, Life Insurance Corporation of India and Chief of South Central Zone, told Business Line here on Monday that final guidelines on the modalities of service charges to be levied on the risk premium (excluding savings component) would be out in about a week. The tax rates differ from product to product, according to Manoj Kumar Jain, Chief Executive Officer, Shriram Life Insurance Corporation. It will be 12.36 per cent on Unit-Linked Insurance Policies (only on charges, such as mortality and administration), 3.09 per cent on traditional products as most of the premium goes into savings, and 12.36 per cent on term plans. "With the complete switch-over to the new product norms from January 1, all the companies have to include this in the new design norms clearly spelling out the exact details of taxes," he said. ADVERSE IMPACT "When the penetration of insurance is still low, this may deter people from buying life insurance,'' said P. Nandagopal, Chief Executive Officer, India First Life Insurance Company. There have been requests from the industry to waive service tax on life insurance after it was announced in this year's Budget proposals. IRDA request But the agents and customers are worried. "Already, the insurance market is down for the last two years. It will be a challenge to convince a customer to buy a policy with a service tax component," P. Vignesh, a senior agent with LIC, said. "What is the logic of service tax on insurance when most of the people do not have social security support unlike in some foreign countries," questions M. Balasubrahmanyam, a policyholder of Bajaj Allianz Life. Removal of the tax will be highly welcome, said Jain. (This article was published on December 23, 2013) Keywords: insurance policy, service tax net, Life Insurance Corporation, Shriram Life Insurance Corporation, Unit-Linked Insurance Policies, 99 |
This mail and its attachments (if any) are confidential information intended for persons to whom the email is planned for delivery by the sender. If you have received this mail in error please notify the sender of the error by forwarding the email and its attachments (if any) and then deleting the mail received in error and the relevant email trail in this connection without making any copies or taking any prints.
__._,_.___
No comments:
Post a Comment