Nalanda University and CSIR-TKDL Sign Traditional Knowledge Pact

The correct answer is 2001. The Government of India created the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library in that year, bringing CSIR and the Ministry of AYUSH together for the purpose, and it was the first database of its kind anywhere in the world. Its aim is to stop patent offices from wrongly granting patents on Indian traditional knowledge, and to deter anyone from appropriating the heritage of the country. The library today holds information on over 5.2 lakh formulations and practices taken from the traditional texts of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa Rigpa, as well as Yoga, each entry matched to modern scientific terms so that an examiner can follow it. A, C and D are wrong because none of them is the founding year; the library was already functioning before any of those later dates, and it had no existence as early as the first option. Exam tip: tie TKDL to 2001, to CSIR with AYUSH, and to the phrase first of its kind in the world.

The correct answer is Rajgir, Bihar. Nalanda University has been established at Rajgir in Nalanda district of Bihar as an international university of national importance, and it functions under the aegis of the Ministry of External Affairs. Its objectives rest on the heritage of the ancient seat of learning of the same name and on strong international cooperation, and it pursues intellectual, philosophical, historical and spiritual studies. The revival of the university is meant to improve regional understanding and the appreciation of one another's heritage and history, building a community where students, scholars and researchers work side by side. A, B and D are wrong because, although each names a well known place in Bihar, none of them is the seat of the university; the campus stands at Rajgir, the town nearest the ruins of the ancient university in Nalanda district. Exam tip: Nalanda University, Rajgir, Nalanda district, Bihar, Ministry of External Affairs.

The correct answer is 18. The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library is at present open to that many international patent offices, and each of them gets access through a non-disclosure agreement, so the knowledge is used for examining patent claims without being published. The database is presented in five international languages, namely English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish, which removes the barriers of language and format that would otherwise keep an examiner abroad from reading Indian traditional texts. The arrangement has produced results: prior art evidence drawn from the library has caused more than 375 patent applications across the world to be revoked, rejected, amended, withdrawn or abandoned. A, B and D are wrong because each understates or overstates the number of offices that hold access today. Exam tip: remember the set of figures together, 18 patent offices, five languages and over 375 patent applications defeated.

The correct answer is the Ministry of AYUSH. The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library was created by the Government of India through a collaboration between CSIR and that ministry, which is the natural partner because the database records the formulations and practices of the Indian systems of medicine, that is Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa Rigpa, along with Yoga. The library holds over 5.2 lakh such formulations and practices, transcribed from traditional texts and correlated with modern terminology. A and C are wrong because neither the culture ministry nor the education ministry was a party to building the database, however much the subject touches heritage and learning. D is wrong on a point worth noting carefully: the Ministry of External Affairs is the ministry under which Nalanda University has been established, not a partner in the TKDL. Exam tip: TKDL means CSIR plus AYUSH; Nalanda University means the Ministry of External Affairs.