India
Today: New Delhi: Tuesday, October 30, 2012.
A top
scientist engaged in research on genetically modified (GM) food crops has been
found to have falsified claims about patents to grab a national award.
The
scientist, Dr Kailash C. Bansal, was given the prestigious Rafi Ahmed Kidwai
Award for "outstanding research" in transgenic crops for the year 2007-2008
on the basis of claims that he had"filed three patents for novel gene
discovery", including one on transgenic brinjal .
In reality,
no such patent application or patent existed when he was given the award on
July 16, 2009.
Documents
obtained under RTI and investigation made by Mail Today show that no patent
application had been filed for brinjal discovery in October 2008 when Bansal
was nominated for the award or in July 2009 when he was presented the award.
Bansal holds
top positions in the research hierarchy of the Indian Council of Agriculture
Research (ICAR).
When he got
the Kidwai award he was a professor at the National Research Centre on Plant
Biotechnology (NRCPB) and presided over ICAR's transgenic research programme
involving about 20 institutes all over the country and five-year budget
exceeding Rs.135 core.
Top brass in
ICAR have not only ignored the patent goof-up but has also rewarded Bansal by
making him director of India's plant gene bank, officially known as National
Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources.
NRCPB's
Institute Technology Management Committee (ITMC), which approves patent
applications of scientists, was ignorant about Bansal's patent application till
it found a mention in the award citation.
After the
award was presented in July 2009, ITMC quizzed Bansal about the application on
July 21, 2009, followed up by a reminder 10 days later. On August 5, 2009,
Bansal replied saying he had applied for the patent on October 30, 2007,
through a private law firm, Corporate Law Group. But the reference number given
by him belongs to year 2009.
Despite the
committee asking him to submit a copy of his application or receipt as a proof,
Bansal did not comply. ITMC later wrote to ICAR. Instead of taking action
against Bansal, the ICAR asked ITMC to'regularise'Bansal's application"in
the Council's interest". When Mail Todayasked Bansal about the patent, he
goofed up further. He gave the same reference number -1621/DEL/2009 -for his
patent application, but a different date of filing. The date of application he
gave to ITMC is October 30, 2007, whereas the date given in response to Mail
Todayqueries is July 27, 2007. In reality, the application was filed in the
first week of August 2009.
Mere
continuance of Bansal in the ICAR system despite the patent taint is being used
by both Bansal and his mentors in ICAR headquarters as a defence.
Bansal in an
email response to Mail Todaysaid:"I continue to be part of the ICAR system
on the same campus and faculty of NRCPB."His boss in ICAR, Dr Swapan K.
Datta, also echoed the same line,"ICAR has taken official response on this
matter. Dr Bansal is still working within ICAR". He did not reply when
asked specifically what the official stand of the council was.
CASE FILE:
·
The
citation of Kidwai award given to Dr K. C. Bansal mentioned a patent filed by
him for transgenic brinjal
·
The
institute records showed that no such application was filed when he got the
award
· When
questioned about it, he filed the application after getting the award
· ICAR
authorities took no action against him but asked institute to 'regularise the application'
· The
dates of filing application given by Bansal to the institute and Mail Today do
not match
· Ignoring
the patent goof up, Bansal was made head of India's gene repository