Cooperation between the Nalanda University and the CSIR-Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (CSIR-TKDL) Unit for research and capacity-building in the areas of Traditional Knowledge (TK), Intellectual Property Rights (...

1. At a Glance

• What happened: Nālandā University (NU) and the CSIR-Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (CSIR-TKDL) Unit signed an MoU. It sets up joint academic work, research and capacity-building on Traditional Knowledge (TK), Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), People's Rights and Cultural Heritage, including Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs). [1]
• Bihar focus: One stated aim is the TK, IPR and cultural heritage of Bihar, including its TCEs. [1]
• Why it matters for UPSC: It brings together two flagship institutions. TKDL is India's tool for defensive protection of TK (blocking wrong patents). Nālandā is a revived international university with links to the East Asia Summit (EAS). [1][8][10]
• Policy fit: The MoU links to NEP 2020, the National IPR Policy 2016 and Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS). That makes it useful for GS-I (culture), GS-II (education) and GS-III (IPR, S&T). [1]

2. Why in the News

• 01 Oct 2026: The NU–CSIR-TKDL MoU was signed. The Ministry of Science & Technology released it through PIB Delhi. [1]
• Signatories: Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi (Vice Chancellor, NU) and Dr. Viswajanani J. Sattigeri (Scientist-H and Head, CSIR-TKDL Unit). [1]
• Areas of cooperation: academic and research activities, intellectual exchanges, trainings, student internships, exchange visits and networking. [1]
• Stated outcomes: identifying, documenting and spreading TK and TCEs (ecological knowledge of communities, folklore, music); building IPR awareness; training young people; and making TK accessible in a way that protects the interests of knowledge holders and communities. [1]

3. Background & Evolution

TKDL track

• 2001: TKDL set up by the Government of India as a joint effort of CSIR and the Ministry of AYUSH. It was the world's first database of its kind. [1][2]
• Purpose: to stop the erroneous grant of patents on Indian TK and discourage misappropriation. [1]
• 2021: CSIR marked 20 years of TKDL. [2]
• 17 Aug 2022: The Union Cabinet approved widening TKDL access to users besides patent offices, such as businesses, research and educational institutions, ISM practitioners and knowledge holders. [4]
• Earlier institutional MoU: IGNCA (New Delhi) and the CSIR-TKDL Unit signed an MoU, a model for heritage-focused TKDL tie-ups. [5]
• Access agreement with EAPO (Moscow): after it, the number of patent offices with TKDL access reached 16. [3]
• Later access agreements: with Brazil [7] and Australia [6]. By Oct 2026 the count was 18 international patent offices. [1]

Nālandā track

• Second EAS (15 Jan 2007, Philippines) and Fourth EAS (25 Oct 2009, Thailand): the decisions to establish the university. [8]
• Nalanda University Act, 2010 (Act No. 39): enacted 21 Sep 2010, in force from 25 Nov 2010. [8]
• Funding: the Cabinet approved ₹2,727.10 crore over 12 years (2010-11 to 2021-22). [9]
• Nalanda University (Amendment) Bill, 2013: the Cabinet approved withdrawing it from the Rajya Sabha. [11]
• 19 Jun 2024: PM inaugurated the new campus at Rajgir. [10]

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Nālandā University	CSIR-TKDL
Nature	International University of "National Importance" [1]; non-state, non-profit, self-governing international institution [8]	World's first TK prior-art database [1][2]
Parent body / Ministry	Ministry of External Affairs [1]	CSIR (Ministry of Science & Technology), set up with Ministry of AYUSH [1]
Legal basis	Nalanda University Act, 2010 (Act 39 of 2010) [8]	Executive initiative; access given through Non-Disclosure Agreements [1]
Location	Rajgir, District Nalanda, Bihar [1][8]	—
Visitor	President of India [8]	—
Origin	EAS decisions of 2007 and 2009 [8]; joint project of India and EAS countries [10]	Est. 2001 [1]
Key numbers	₹2,727.10 crore (2010-11 to 2021-22) [9]	5.2 lakh+ formulations and practices; 5 languages; 18 patent offices; 375+ patent applications revoked, rejected, amended, withdrawn or abandoned [1]
Coverage	Intellectual, philosophical, historical and spiritual studies [1][8]	Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa, Yoga [1]

• TKDL languages: English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish. [1]
• Value addition: TK from many languages is turned into information correlated with modern terminologies, so patent examiners can use it. [1]
• TCEs: an MoU focus area, covering folklore, music and similar forms. [1]

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Legal / IPR

• TKDL works as prior art: it is evidence that an invention is not new, used to challenge patents based on TK. [1]
• 375+ patent applications worldwide have been revoked, rejected, amended, withdrawn or abandoned on TKDL evidence. Earlier PIB figures were lower (e.g., 239 set aside, withdrawn or amended). [1][2]
• The MoU explicitly names People's Rights, which points to the rights of communities who hold the knowledge, beyond defensive patent protection alone. [1]

Social / Community

• TK should be accessible only in ways that protect the interests of knowledge holders and communities. This is the classic tension between open access and benefit-sharing. [1]
• Documenting ecological knowledge of communities, folklore and music protects intangible heritage that is at risk. [1]

Economic

• Widening TKDL access is meant to encourage R&D and innovation based on Indian TK in herbal healthcare, pharma, phytopharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, personal care and FMCG. [3][4]

Educational / Governance

• Supports NEP 2020 goals of integrating IKS into higher education, and the National IPR Policy 2016 goals on TK. [1]
• Internships and trainings build IPR literacy among young researchers. [1]

Geopolitical / Soft Power

• Nālandā is an EAS-linked international university under the MEA, a tool of cultural diplomacy. [1][8][10]
• TKDL access agreements with foreign patent offices (EAPO, Brazil, Australia and others) show India leading globally on TK policy. [1][3][6][7]

Historical / Cultural

• The aim is to "rejuvenate the past glory of Nalanda" as a hub of learning and research, with focus on Bihar's cultural heritage. [1]

6. Recent Developments (last 12-18 months)

• 01 Oct 2026: NU–CSIR-TKDL MoU signed. [1]
• Oct 2026 status: TKDL holds 5.2 lakh+ formulations, is available to 18 patent offices, and has been cited in 375+ patent outcomes. [1]
• India–Australia TKDL access agreement signed (exact date not confirmed in the sources I retrieved). [6]
• India–Brazil TKDL access agreement signed, also covering cooperation on patent examination (exact date not confirmed in the sources I retrieved). [7]
• 19 Jun 2024 (context, older than 18 months): new Rajgir campus of Nālandā University inaugurated by the PM. [10]

7. Prelims Hooks

• TKDL was set up in 2001 by CSIR and the Ministry of AYUSH. [1]
• TKDL is the world's first database for defensive protection of TK. [1][2]
• TKDL covers Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Yoga. [1]
• TKDL holds over 5.2 lakh formulations and practices. [1]
• TKDL is in 5 international languages: English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish. Hindi is not one of them. [1]
• Foreign patent offices get TKDL access through Non-Disclosure Agreements. [1]
• 18 international patent offices have TKDL access (as of Oct 2026). [1]
• 375+ patent applications worldwide were affected by TKDL prior-art evidence. [1]
• The Cabinet approved widening TKDL access beyond patent offices on 17 Aug 2022. [4]
• Nālandā University is under the Ministry of External Affairs, not the Ministry of Education. [1]
• It was established under the Nalanda University Act, 2010 (Act No. 39), in force from 25 Nov 2010. [8]
• The Act gives effect to the 2nd EAS (2007, Philippines) and 4th EAS (2009, Thailand) decisions. [8]
• The President of India is the Visitor of Nālandā University. [8]
• The new Nālandā campus at Rajgir was inaugurated on 19 Jun 2024. [10]
• The MoU invokes NEP 2020 and the National IPR Policy 2016. [1]

8. Blocking a Wrong Patent Is Not the Same as Paying the Community

• TKDL protects the knowledge. It does not pay the people who hold it.
• TKDL works by stopping wrong patents. Its record is 375+ patent applications blocked or changed [1].
• A blocked patent earns the healer, farmer or tribe that holds the knowledge nothing. It only stops a foreign firm from owning it.

• So when the MoU says People's Rights [1], it points to a gap that TKDL was never built to fill.

• The 2023 change to the biodiversity law makes this gap wider

• Under the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023, people who use codified traditional knowledge (TK written down in classical texts) and AYUSH practitioners do not have to pay benefit-sharing (a share of profits given back to local communities) [13][14].
• The law does not define "codified traditional knowledge". PRS warns that a wide reading could free almost all local TK from benefit-sharing [13].

• TKDL is itself a store of written formulations from Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Yoga [1]. Much of it is the kind of knowledge the exemption can cover.

• Opening TKDL to companies cuts both ways

• Since 2022, businesses and researchers can use TKDL, not just patent offices. The goal is more Indian R&D in herbal products, pharma and FMCG [4].
• The case for this is strong. Indian firms, not foreign ones, get first use of Indian knowledge.
• But put it next to the 2023 exemption. An Indian firm can now build a product from TKDL data and owe the source community nothing [4][13]. This MoU, between a university and TKDL, does not change that.

9. Why a Patent Database Cannot Protect Folklore and Music

• The MoU adds TCEs, but TKDL was built only for medicine and yoga
• TCEs (Traditional Cultural Expressions — folk songs, dances, stories, designs) are a named focus of the MoU, with Bihar as a special focus [1].
• TKDL covers only Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Yoga [1].

• TKDL's whole method is prior art (proof that something already existed, used to kill a patent). Copying a folk song or painting is not stopped by refusing a patent, so this tool does not fit.

• Writing culture down can expose it

• Once a folk tune or design is documented and shared, anyone can use it. The MoU itself says access must protect the interests of knowledge holders [1].

• TKDL handles this by sharing only under Non-Disclosure Agreements (secrecy contracts) with patent offices [1]. An academic project that publishes research, trains interns and shares its work [1] has no such shield by default.

• The global law also stops short of TCEs

• The 2024 WIPO Treaty covers only genetic resources (plants, animals, microbes) and the TK linked to them [12].
• Folklore and music are not genetic resources, so this treaty does not reach them [12].

10. What the 2024 WIPO Treaty Adds, and Where It Stops

• It moves from blocking to tracing the source
• WIPO member states adopted the Treaty on IP, Genetic Resources and Associated TK on 24 May 2024 [12].
• Patent applicants must disclose the country of origin, or the Indigenous People or local community, behind an invention based on genetic resources or linked TK [12].

• This is the first WIPO treaty with provisions specifically for Indigenous Peoples and local communities [12]. TKDL only checks whether something is new. The treaty asks where it came from.

• But it has weak teeth

• If an applicant fails to disclose, the patent should not be revoked for that reason alone. Only fraud can lead to action after the patent is granted [12].

• So TKDL's evidence-based blocking (the 375+ cases [1]) stays India's sharper weapon. The treaty adds to it but does not replace it.

• It backs databases like TKDL, with one condition

• The treaty encourages TK databases that patent offices can search [12].
• It asks that they be built in consultation with Indigenous Peoples and local communities [12]. TKDL's own description stresses expert work turning old texts into modern terms [1], not community consent.
• The treaty comes into force three months after 15 countries ratify or accede to it [12].

11. What the MoU Partners and the Centre Should Do Next

• NU and CSIR-TKDL: get community consent before documenting Bihar's TK and TCEs
• Follow the WIPO Treaty's rule that TK databases be built in consultation with communities [12].

• Record who holds each piece of knowledge, not just what it is. That record is what a future benefit-sharing or disclosure claim will need.

• NU and CSIR-TKDL: keep folklore and music records under controlled access

• Use the same Non-Disclosure Agreement model that TKDL uses with patent offices [1].

• Do not publish openly by default. The MoU's own promise to protect knowledge holders [1] demands this.

• MoEFCC: define "codified traditional knowledge" in the rules

• PRS flagged the missing definition as the reason the benefit-sharing exemption could become very wide [13].

• A narrow definition would stop TKDL-sourced products from automatically escaping benefit-sharing [4][13].

• Use the IGNCA–TKDL MoU as the model for TCE work

• IGNCA is India's heritage and culture body, and it already has a TKDL tie-up [5].
• NU's TCE work can be routed through that experience instead of forcing folklore into a patent database built for medicine [1][5].

12. Anchors for Answers

• Data: TKDL — 5.2 lakh+ formulations, access for 18 patent offices, 375+ patent applications blocked or changed (Oct 2026) [1]
• Report/Committee: Joint Committee of Parliament on the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Bill, 2021 (report, 2022) [15]
• Law/Case: Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023 — users of codified TK and AYUSH practitioners do not have to share benefits; "codified TK" is not defined [13][14]
• Comparison: WIPO Treaty on IP, Genetic Resources and Associated TK (24 May 2024) — patent applicants must disclose the source, but a patent cannot be revoked for non-disclosure alone; it covers genetic resources, not folklore or music [12]
• Scheme: Widening of TKDL access beyond patent offices (Cabinet, 17 Aug 2022) — Indian firms get first use of Indian TK, but nothing in it shares benefits with communities [4]

13. Mains Relevance

• GS-I: Indian culture, salient aspects of art forms, literature and architecture (TCEs, folklore, the Nālandā heritage).
• GS-II: Issues relating to education and human resources (NEP 2020, IKS); India and its regional groupings (EAS-linked Nālandā).
• GS-III: IPR issues; science and technology, indigenisation; biopiracy and conservation.
• Possible question stems: 1. Defensive protection of Traditional Knowledge through databases like TKDL is necessary but not sufficient. Critically examine in light of the rights of knowledge-holding communities. 2. How can partnerships between higher-education institutions and bodies like CSIR-TKDL put the NEP 2020 vision on Indian Knowledge Systems into practice? 3. The revival of Nālandā University is as much a diplomatic project as an educational one. Discuss.

14. Related Topics to Study Next

• National IPR Policy 2016: the policy framework the MoU cites for TK goals.
• Biological Diversity Act and Access & Benefit-Sharing: the counterpart to TKDL's purely defensive model, focused on community rights.
• WIPO's work on genetic resources, TK and TCEs: the global forum for TK and TCE norms.
• Nagoya Protocol / CBD: the international legal basis for access and benefit-sharing on genetic resources and associated TK.
• The turmeric, neem and basmati patent disputes: the classic biopiracy cases that motivated TKDL.
• Indian Knowledge Systems under NEP 2020: the education-policy hook of this MoU.
• East Asia Summit: the multilateral origin of the revived Nālandā.
• UNESCO intangible cultural heritage and GI tags of Bihar: other ways to protect TCEs.

15. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Wrong ministry: Nālandā University is under the MEA, not the Ministry of Education. TKDL is a CSIR (Ministry of Science & Technology) project set up with AYUSH, not one run by AYUSH alone. [1]
• Outdated numbers: older PIB releases give 16 patent offices and 239 patent outcomes. The Oct 2026 figures are 18 and 375+. Note which figure goes with which date. [1][2][3]
• Languages: the TKDL languages are English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish. Hindi and Chinese are not included. [1]
• Defensive vs positive protection: TKDL blocks wrong patents. It does not grant IPR to communities. [1]
• Nālandā's legal basis: the university was created by a 2010 Act of Parliament implementing EAS decisions, not by a UNESCO decision. Do not confuse the university with the ancient Nālandā Mahavihara archaeological site. [8]