Deal with Ramdev trust for marketing DRDO products non-exclusive: Govt

The government on Thursday said the agreement signed between DRDO and yoga guru Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurveda Limited to manufacture and market some herbal supplements and food products is "non-exclusive". It said the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research (DIHAR) has successfully developed products based on seabuckthorn which were found to be having high nutritional values. It can be used as quality food supplements as they have very high anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals. 

"Patanjali Ayurveda Limited has taken Transfer of Technologies (ToT) through a 'non-exclusive' licence from DRDO for five of the seabuckthorn-based products namely: Seabuckthorn Beverage, Seapricot Beverage, herbal Tea, Seabuckthorn Oil Soft Gel Capsules and Seabuckthorn Jam," a statement released by the Defence Ministry said.

Describing Patanjali Ayurveda Ltd as a "major well recognised" Indian brand in Ayurveda and natural health products with extensive network of distributors throughout India, the statement said it can take these products to the market more effectively. "Being one of the biggest manufacturers of Ayurveda products in the country with WHO-GMP certified, Patanjali can further innovate and find more benefits for these products," it added.

These technologies were earlier given to two more companies on "non-exclusive" basis - Pravek kalp Pvt. Ltd and Ambe Phytoextracts Ltd. As these licences are non-exclusive in nature, DRDO can provide additional licences, if required, the statement said.