He also announced that the Government was trying to have the National Patent Office declared as an International Search Authority and as International Preliminary Examination Authority under the terms of the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

Speaking on the occasion of the first AGM of the Institute of Intellectual Property Development (IIPD), here today, he said that India had to globalise to survive. ``We have to enter the global game and win it to protect the interest of India,'' he said.

The declaration of the National Patent office as examination and search centre will give great boost to the domestic scientific andinventor community. They will be able to access patent information at their doorstep without incurring high costs. ``It is absolutely necessary to ensure that accurate and authentic information is disseminated widely to the people,'' the minister said.

Bakht said that the Government decision to accede to the Paris Convention would help Indian inventors and encourage them to market their inventions across the world.

Dr Anji Reddy, head of IIPD said that he was keen to see tough patent protection laws so that the Indian companies which were innovating would be protected. ``I spent Rs 60 crore on developing new drug molecules. I do not want someone else to copy them and make profit without investing anything.'' He said that India needed process patent in the 1970s so that the local drug industry could prosper. ``But we can't keep asking for protection forever. We have to start coming up with fresh research on our own,'' he said.

The Director General of CSIR, Dr RA Mashelkar said that information was thekey to success in the global environment. Unless India learnt to protect and nurture knowledge creation, it would suffer, he said, adding ``Future wars will not be fought with bombs but with knowledge. India has grey gold in its grey cells which can help it be on top. For this we must protect intellectual property creation.''