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By:

Rajendra Joshi

3 December 2024 at 3:50:26 am

Procurement first, infrastructure later

Procurement at multiples of market price; equipment before infrastructure; no accountability Kolhapur: Maharashtra’s Medical Education and Public Health Departments have been on an aggressive drive to expand public healthcare infrastructure. Daily announcements of new centres, advanced equipment and expanded services have reassured citizens long denied dependable public healthcare. Procurement of medical equipment, medicines and surgical supplies is reportedly being undertaken at rates two to...

Procurement first, infrastructure later

Procurement at multiples of market price; equipment before infrastructure; no accountability Kolhapur: Maharashtra’s Medical Education and Public Health Departments have been on an aggressive drive to expand public healthcare infrastructure. Daily announcements of new centres, advanced equipment and expanded services have reassured citizens long denied dependable public healthcare. Procurement of medical equipment, medicines and surgical supplies is reportedly being undertaken at rates two to ten times higher than prevailing market prices. Basic economics dictates that bulk government procurement ought to secure better rates than private buyers, not worse. During the Covid-19 pandemic, equipment and consumables were procured at five to ten times the market rate, with government audit reports formally flagging these irregularities. Yet accountability has remained elusive. The pattern is illustrated vividly in Kolhapur. The Dean of Rajarshi Shahu Government Medical College announced that a PET scan machine worth Rs 35 crore would soon be installed at Chhatrapati Pramilaraje (CPR) Government Hospital for cancer diagnosis. But a comparable machine is available in the market for around Rs 6.5 crore. A senior cancer surgeon at a major cancer hospital in western Maharashtra, where a similar machine was recently installed, remarked that the gap between what his hospital paid and what the government is reportedly paying was enough to make one ‘feel dizzy’. The label of a ‘turnkey project’ does not adequately explain a price differential of this magnitude. High Costs CPR Hospital recently had a state-of-the-art IVF centre approved at a sanctioned cost of Rs 7.20 crore. Senior fertility specialists across Maharashtra note that even a modern IVF centre with advanced reproductive technology equipment typically costs between Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 3 crore. The state’s outlay is reportedly approaching Rs 15 crore. Equipment arrived in June 2025 and lay idle for months owing to indecision about the site. Similarly, digital X-ray machines approved for CPR Hospital and a government hospital in Nanded; available in the market for roughly Rs 1.5 crore; were reportedly procured at Rs 9.98 crore per unit. Doctors in CPR’s radiology department, apprehensive about being drawn into potential inquiries, reportedly resisted accepting the equipment. One departmental head was transferred amid disagreements over signing off on the proposal. What’s Wrong These cases point to a deeper structural failure: Maharashtra has perfected what might be called the ‘equipment first, infrastructure later’ model. In any public hospital, the administrative sequence ought to be: identify space, create infrastructure, sanction specialist posts, and only then procure equipment. Compounding the procurement paradox is a parallel policy decision. On 20 December 2025, the state government decided to introduce radiology diagnostic services through a Public-Private Partnership model (PPP). Following this, an order issued on 6 February 2026 authorised private operators to provide PET scan, MRI and CT scan services at six government medical college hospitals: in Pune, Kolhapur, Miraj, Sangli, Mumbai and Baramati. CPR already has a 126-slice CT scan machine and a 3 Tesla MRI scanner, with another CT scan proposed. If the PPP arrangement proceeds, the hospital could simultaneously run one PET scan machine, two MRI scanners and three CT scan machines. Medical experts warn this could lead to unnecessary diagnostic testing simply to keep machines occupied, thus exposing patients to excess radiation while government-owned equipment gathers dust. A similar pattern was seen during the pandemic, when the Medical Education Department spent hundreds of crores on RT-PCR machines, only to award swab-testing contracts to a private company. Many of those machines remain unused today.

Sanskrit for Patents? Reviving an Ancient Language for Modern Innovation

Updated: Feb 14, 2025

If India’s premier classical language can facilitate legislative debates, it certainly has the potential to serve as a precise medium for intellectual property documentation.

Sanskrit

Sanskrit, the ancient language of India, has long been revered as the custodian of profound knowledge. With its precision, adaptability, and unparalleled capacity to express intricate ideas concisely, Sanskrit has remained integral to philosophical and scientific discourse for centuries. In today's fast-evolving technological landscape, where intellectual property is pivotal to innovation, could Sanskrit be revived as a language for patent documentation? This proposition offers intriguing possibilities while posing notable challenges.


The recent initiative by the Lok Sabha Secretariat to provide simultaneous interpretation of parliamentary proceedings in Sanskrit is a significant step toward the language's revitalization. This move underscores the government's commitment to preserving and modernizing Sanskrit, reinforcing its potential utility in various domains including intellectual property protection. If Sanskrit can facilitate legislative debates, it can certainly be adapted for patent filings, thereby safeguarding India's technological advancements while reaffirming its cultural identity. Patents serve as repositories of protected knowledge - a role Sanskrit has historically excelled at. Ancient Indian texts, from the Charaka Samhita in medicine to the Surya Siddhanta in astronomy, exemplify how complex knowledge systems were encoded in Sanskrit with exceptional clarity and brevity. The language’s unique structure allows for precise expression, making it an effective medium for patent claims. A well-drafted patent in Sanskrit could enhance legal robustness by reducing ambiguities and safeguarding against misinterpretation or infringement.


Furthermore, Sanskrit’s capacity for succinct expression makes it a strong candidate for patent drafting, minimizing convoluted descriptions. For instance, Ohm’s law, stated in English as: “The current through a conductor between two points is directly proportional to the voltage across the two points, provided the temperature remains constant.” can be rendered concisely in Sanskrit as:


“यद्यपि तापमानं अपरिवर्तनशीलं भवति, तदा प्रवाहः विभवस्य समानुपाती भवति।”


Similarly, a patent claim for a biometric authentication system: “A biometric authentication system comprising a fingerprint scanner for capturing user fingerprints, a database for storing fingerprint data, and an algorithm for matching the captured fingerprint with stored data.” can be effectively encapsulated in Sanskrit as:


“जैवमितिसत्यापन प्रणाली यः हस्तलाक्षणिक संग्राहकं धारयति, संग्रहणं सूचनाविभागे सम्पादयति, मिलानं निष्पादयति।”


This linguistic efficiency could streamline patent documentation, reducing redundancy and enhancing technical clarity.


Developing new Sanskrit terminology for contemporary scientific and technological advancements is not insurmountable. Sanskrit news broadcasts on radio and television have already demonstrated this adaptability, seamlessly incorporating modern terminologies. Words such as vidyut (electricity), yantra (machine), and doordarshan (television) illustrate its evolutionary potential. Extending this adaptability to patent law could be highly feasible. For instance, a patent claim for an AI-powered translation system: “An AI-powered translation system that processes input text, identifies linguistic patterns, and generates accurate translations across multiple languages.” can be concisely expressed as:


 “कृत्रिमबुद्धियुक्त भाषा-अनुवाद प्रणाली यः पाठस्य विश्लेषणं करोति, भाषाप्रवृत्तीनां चिन्हानि परिज्ञाय, यथार्थ अनुवादं सम्पादयति।”


These examples illustrate Sanskrit’s ability to integrate with cutting-edge computational technologies.


Introducing Sanskrit into the patent system could be implemented in a phased manner. Initially, it could be an optional language alongside English and Hindi, the two official languages currently recognized for patent applications in India. This transition would allow inventors and legal professionals to adapt gradually. Under existing Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) regulations, applications not filed in English require an English translation within a stipulated timeframe. Sanskrit could be integrated within these frameworks, ensuring a structured and efficient adoption process. Globally, countries such as China, Japan, Germany, France, Russia, and Korea file patents in their native languages. By incorporating Sanskrit, India would align itself with global best practices while showcasing its rich linguistic heritage. Just as Latin once served as the lingua franca of European intellectual discourse, Sanskrit could reclaim a similar role in India’s intellectual and technological landscape.


Despite its potential, certain challenges must be addressed. Since Sanskrit is not widely spoken today, training inventors and legal professionals in its technical applications would require dedicated efforts. Additionally, while Sanskrit’s interpretability is a strength, it could also introduce complexities in legal proceedings. For instance, a dispute over whether a Sanskrit shloka describes a wind turbine or a ceiling fan could become legally intricate. Furthermore, translating Sanskrit patents for international filings might necessitate additional resources. However, India possesses a vast pool of linguistic scholars and software developers who could develop advanced translation tools, ensuring global compatibility.


The recent adoption of Sanskrit interpretation in the Lok Sabha demonstrates the government's commitment to reintegrating the language into contemporary discourse. If Sanskrit can facilitate legislative debates, it certainly has the potential to serve as a precise medium for intellectual property documentation. Reviving Sanskrit for patent documentation is more than a symbolic gesture; it is a practical and ambitious proposal that bridges India’s historical legacy with modern technological needs. By integrating Sanskrit into the legal framework, India could reaffirm the relevance of its linguistic heritage while enhancing the protection of intellectual property. The idea may be ambitious, but ambition has always been the driving force behind innovation.

 

(The writer is a former Director of the Pune-based Agharkar Research Institute and Visiting Professor, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. Views are personal)

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