2.           What is the celebrated Raman Effect ? To quote in the very simple description of Prof Arul Das from his very recent text book  " Molecular Structure and Spectroscopy ", Prentice Hall, 2001,

Photons can interact with molecules of matter in a number of ways. When they strike a solid or collection of molecules, most of them are scattered elastically (Rayleigh scattering). But a few ( one in a million) undergo inelastic scattering. These inelastically  scattered photons have frequencies lower and higher than the incident frequency. This phenomenon, predicted in 1923 by Smekel and observed by C.V.Raman in 1928 is referred to as Raman scattering.The lines on the low and high frequency sides of the Rayleigh line are called Stokes and anti-Stokes lines respectively.The scattered photons have frequency shifts ( 10 - 4000 per cm) characteristic of the vibrational  or  rotational energies of the molecule.These weak lines of modified frequencies are generally referred to as the Raman Spectrum and the frequency shift from the exciting line as Raman shift ".    
 

Advantages of Raman over IR spectroscopy are the following :

The energy of interest is generally 10-4000cm-1, requiring light of l 100mm to 2.5mm which presents experimental problems with IR spectroscopy. This is easily achieved with Raman. 

1. It is harder to focus with IR due to the large and varying wavelengths used in microIR. It is very easy to focus using microRaman. 

2. Water is a strong absorber of IR so this rules out IR spectra of water or species dissolved in it. Water presents no experimental problems in Raman experiments. 

3. Raman spectral studies are unaffected by powder particle sizes or shape. 

4. In Raman studies the dimensions of the particles are large compared to the wavelength of the beam, ~0.5mm, so spectra are essentially discrete lines. 
Obviously the discovery of Raman Effect was of very great significance. Acclaimed internationally, he was knighted in 1929, became Fellow of Royal Society in 1930 and to no surprise  the Nobel Prize in 1930 " For his work on the scattering of light and for the discovery of the effect known after him". Undoubtedly it also became a moment of great glory for our country. 

To quote again Prof Arul Das,

"The first Raman spectrum of an organic compound was observed using sun as the source, a telescope as the  receiver and human eye as the detector.As the scattering efficiency is proportional to the fourth power of frequency, one prefers to work with a high frequency source.  However to reduce fluorescence low frequency is preferred. In the pre-laser days , the commonly used sources were the 435.8 nm blue and the 253.6 nm uv lines of the mercury vapour … with very great disadvantages….With the discovery ( only) of lasers the situation changed considerably".

And this heralded the  acclaimed Laser Raman Spectra without which much of  present day research in the field would not have been possible at all. In other words, Raman Effect has become immortal in all sense of the word in scientific research. When we bow our heads today in his honour , we honour all those scientists and technologists who made Raman Effect an every day feasibility. It is in this connection that I invite your attention the fact that whereas Raman had discovered  his effect and published extensively on the same in very renowned journals such as Nature, Philosophical Transactions, etc, he had also invented the first Raman Spectrometer, yet he did not resort to patent the latter concurrently. A quick search of the world  literature indicates that there are  over  90 patents  for " Raman Spectrometer". One of the latest ones is :

 US Patent No. 6,275,285 on " Laser Verification and Authentication Raman Spectrometer (LVARS) detecting the Stokes Anti-Stokes Emission".

Assigned to Wizard of Ink & Co.(Tuscon, AZ), the patent describes the invention of an LVARS  " capable of performing analysis and verification and authentication of the optical and electromagnetic properties of organic and inorganic molecules, both natural as well as manufactured compounds".

 In essence, invention of new Raman spectrometers for new purposes has continued to be a discovery-cum invention oriented R&D area of great interest even after its original discovery seven decades ago !  It is an interesting thought indeed that if Raman had also patented his first spectrometer ( this was not unusual, as was done for the nuclear reactor by the Nobel laureates Fermi and Szilard , the transistor by Shockley and his other two Nobel laureates colleagues , the one for new explosives by Alfred Nobel himself , and so on) and his institute either by itself or jointly with relevant electronics laboratories had also steadily developed newer Raman instruments as part of extending its studies to new areas of research, the Raman Research Institute at Bangalore would have had the benefit of additional financial resources as was the case with the Max Plank Institute at Mulheim with her Zeigler-Natta catalyst ! It is important to note that whereas there are over 500 Nobel Laureates in science and technology, the US Hall of Fame has honoured  over 150  "Patent Laureates" who through their inventions of new products and processes have transferred the benefits of modern science and technology for the welfare of mankind. These names include Luis Pasteur, Carl Djerassi, Alexander Graham Bell, W.H.Carothers, Thoamas Alva Edison, Henry Ford, Charles Goodyear, and so on. 

4.          This brings us to the definitions of 'discovery' and 'invention'. As per definitions of the celebrated Random House dictionary, discovery means 'get knowledge of' and invention  means ' to create as a product of one's own ingenuity or experimentation'.

Hence the reason that the discovery of Raman Effect forms a publishable matter whereas the invention of the Raman Spectrometer qualifies for  and a product patent. Undoubtedly if science as an invaluable product of human labour has to play its un-surpassing role in human progress, scientific discoveries and inventions must go hand in hand in total complimentary fashion.

5.          It is interesting that espousing a similar strategy the World Conference on Science held in Budapest held on July 2, 1999 under the joint auspices UNESCO and International Council for Science (ISCU) gave a Declaration on Science and the Use of Scientific Knowledge . The main points are the following.

a. Seeks active collaboration from all the fields of scientific endeavor.
b. Science for knowledge; knowledge for progress.
c. Science for peace.
d. Science for development.
e. National strategies and international co-operation needed to achieve the above needs.

Obviously it is understood that the  Indian S&T programs also  continues to follow essentially the rules of international S&T programs tailor-made to meet the specific political-economic-development needs - - systematic R&D programmes resulting in discovering new theories and inventing new products and processes of practical use and conversion of the priority products and processes into commercial technologies for national development. Hence the reason that patents and patenting practices also in turn form a very crucial element of such an S&T strategy.

6.           Being a product of the celebrated Industrial Revolution and of modern science and technology, the first law on patents and patenting practices was incidentally enacted in her areas of control in India by the then East India Company in 1856.This was successively modified along the UK practices and this process was continued after 1947 by the newly independent nation in terms of the comprehensive Indian Patents Act,1970.After entry to the WTO, the government is now amending the 1970 Act to become TRIPS-compliant; soon India will then enter into a New IPR Regime. What are the implications of these amendments  for Indian S&T , these form the rest of the presentation.