The Centre is engaged in further reducing the time to clear applications filed for patent, which was already cut to 12-24 months from the earlier 72 months, Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said here on Sunday.

Domestic filing of patents has been increasing and in 2021, a total of 58,502 patents was filed while 28,391 were cleared, she said at a function here.

"In 2016 when the start-up policy was announced, lots of policies were brought in so that start-ups can get assistance in filing IPs. The number of days it took for patents to be cleard was 72 months in 2016. As of December 2020 which is the last data I have, it has come down to 12 months, in some cases 24 months. We are trying to further bring that down," she was quoted as saying in a press release.

Sitharaman took part in a slew of functions at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and they include inauguration of a National Centre for Precision Medicine in Cancer set up under the corporate social responsibility of Karkinos Healthcare.

The Finance Minister also inaugurated the CAMS IIT-M Fintech Innovation Lab established in partnership with Computer Age Management Services Ltd.

Sitharaman said 14.2 lakh trademark registrations were made between 2016 -2020.

"This number is astonishing for me, because from 1940 to 2015, only 11 lakh trademarks were registered," she said.

"Start-ups are provided almost 80 per cent rebate in the cost of filing patents. Prime Minister Narendra Modi often says he wants India to be an IP superpower," she remarked.

India has always invested in knowledge and the government from 2014 has seen how the nation can become a knowledge-based society, she noted.

The National Centre for Precision Medicine in Cancer, inaugurated by Sitharaman, attracted Rs 29.73-crore funds from Karkinos Healthcare.

The objective of the partnership is to promote the research work of IIT- Madras, in molecular biology, cell biology, genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics, data science and other interdisciplinary research to develop affordable cancer care solutions.

The CAMS IIT-M Fintech Innovation Lab also inaugurated by Sitharaman is aimed at establishing a world-class hub of research and applied technologies in financial technology and related applied technologies.

The multi-disciplinary lab would help promote education and research in financial technology and accelerate innovation in addressing industry challenges, IIT-Madras said.

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