UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — India and Australia Sign Agreement on Access to Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (CSIR-TKDL) to Strengthen Protection of Traditional Knowledge

Q1. The 2026 TKDL Access Agreement between CSIR and IP Australia was concluded on the sidelines of which edition of the India-Australia Annual Summit?

  • A. Second Annual Summit
  • B. Third Annual Summit
  • C. Fourth Annual Summit
  • D. Fifth Annual Summit

Q2. With reference to the 2026 India-Australia TKDL Access Agreement, which one of the following statements is NOT correct?

  1. The Australian counterpart granted access to the database is IP Australia, its patent office.
  2. The agreement was concluded on the sidelines of the India-Australia Annual Summit at Melbourne.
  3. Access to the complete database is governed by a Non-Disclosure Agreement rather than by a treaty.
  4. On the Indian side, the TKDL granting the access is maintained by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 3 only
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 2 and 3

Q3. In the context of the access agreements concluded with foreign patent offices, the TKDL functions primarily as which one of the following?

  • A. A prior-art database that enables patent examiners to reject or revoke claims that lack novelty over documented traditional knowledge
  • B. A registry that confers exclusive intellectual property rights to India over every listed formulation
  • C. An open commercial licensing platform through which foreign firms may market Indian herbal products
  • D. A treaty mechanism obliging member offices to share patent-royalty revenues with India

Q4. Which of the following patent offices/organisations are correctly identified as having concluded access/cooperation arrangements with CSIR on the TKDL?

  1. European Patent Office
  2. Eurasian Patent Organization
  3. China National Intellectual Property Administration
  4. United States Patent and Trademark Office
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 1, 2 and 4
  • C. 2, 3 and 4
  • D. 1 and 4 only

Q5. The widened, subscription-based access to the TKDL approved by the Union Cabinet is operationalised primarily through which one of the following bodies?

  • A. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
  • B. The National Medicinal Plants Board
  • C. The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)
  • D. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)

Q6. With reference to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which one of the following statements is NOT correct?

  1. It was set up in 1942.
  2. It functions as an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
  3. It is India's largest publicly funded multi-disciplinary industrial research and development organisation.
  4. It is a statutory body established directly by an Act of Parliament.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 4 only
  • D. 1 and 4