The Government today said that 1,535 patents have been filed by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in the last three years. Out of these, 69 patents have been converted into products and processes, which have benefited the country. In a written reply in Rajya Sabha, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the total commercial value of these patents which have become commercially viable is over 13 hundred 21 lakh rupees. He said these institutes have been front runners in the field of research and innovation that have benefitted industry and the society.
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are autonomous public technical universities located across India. It is under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Education, Government of India. They are governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961, which has declared them as Institutes of National Importance and lays down their powers, duties, and framework for governance. The Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 lists twenty-three institutes. Each IIT is autonomous, linked to the others through a common council (IIT Council), which oversees their administration. The Minister of Education is the ex officio Chairperson of the IIT Council. As of 2021, the total number of seats for undergraduate programs in all IITs is 16,234.