NEW DELHI: The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cooperation in the evaluation, development, technology transfer and commercialisation of innovative technologies in the energy sector.

The agreement was exchanged in Dehradun by Commodore Amit Rastogi (Retd.), Chairman and Managing Director of NRDC, and Tarun Kumar Mathuria, Executive Director and Chief of Institute, KDMIPE, ONGC, Dehradun. The exchange took place in the presence of Om Prakash Sinha, Director (Exploration), ONGC, along with senior officials from both organisations.

The partnership is aimed at creating a structured framework to identify technologies with commercial potential and help move them from the research and laboratory stage to market-ready solutions. The collaboration will cover various stages of the technology lifecycle, including technology assessment, further development, transfer to industry and eventual commercialisation.

The initiative is particularly significant for the energy sector, where advanced technologies can play an important role in improving exploration, production, efficiency, sustainability and operational capabilities. By bringing together NRDC's expertise in technology transfer and commercialisation with ONGC's extensive experience and infrastructure in the oil and gas sector, the partnership could help accelerate the deployment of indigenous technologies.

NRDC, functioning under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology, is the government's principal institutional vehicle for technology licensing, transfer and industry partnerships. It has licensed technologies to more than 5,100 entrepreneurs and has facilitated the filing of over 2,000 intellectual property applications, according to government information.

For ONGC, the collaboration comes at a time when the company is placing greater emphasis on technology to support exploration and production, particularly in India's deepwater and ultra-deepwater areas. ONGC plans to invest around ₹1 trillion over the next five years in deepwater exploration and drill 87 deepwater and ultra-deepwater wells by March 2031.

The two organisations, however, have not disclosed details of the specific technologies that will be covered under the MoU. Details regarding the investment involved and a specific implementation timeline have also not been announced.

The agreement nevertheless represents an important step towards strengthening the connection between public-sector research, technology development and industrial deployment, potentially enabling Indian innovations to move more efficiently from laboratories to commercial applications.