Maharashtra to Establish MANTRA Hub for Innovation and IP Commercialisation.

The Maharashtra government has granted in-principle approval for a state-level MANTRA Centre with an allocation of ₹60 crore to support patent filing, intellectual property management, and the commercialisation of research from universities.

According to an official statement, the Higher and Technical Education Department will establish MANTRA (Maharashtra Academy for Nurturing Technology, Research and Intellectual Assets) to strengthen the state’s innovation and research ecosystem.

The initiative aims to create a structured support system for intellectual property creation and management within higher education institutions.

To guide the framework, the department had earlier constituted an expert committee under the chairmanship of Dr A. B. Pandit, Vice Chancellor of the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, to evaluate mechanisms for strengthening IP generation and commercialization in the academic sector.