Boost for new inventors

Sandasen Marasinghe

Commissioner of Sri Lanka Inventors Commission Professor Mahinda Pathegama yesterday stated that new inventors would be given loans at a low interest rate as a form of assistance for commercializing their inventions thus enabling the nation to obtain the maximum benefits from them.

Professor Pathegama making this observation at a ceremony to celebrate the first National Inventors Day at the new Mihilaka Medura at the BMICH said this initiative has been taken to encourage the inventors to compete at the international markets with their products.

March 14 is named as National Inventors Day from this year by the Sri Lanka Inventors Commission to honour the father of modern physics Albert Einstein.

He also said that the Commission would establish a National Centre for Inventions within this year to modernize Sri Lankan inventions to match international standards. He said that all the inventions the SLIC receives are very basic in appearance so that they cannot be marketed directly as a product. With the initiation of the National Centre for Inventions, the commission hopes to generate additional revenue by way of foreign exchange with Sri Lankan inventions of a international standard.

Prof Pathegama further said that many projects would be implemented this year to create an invention tradition in the 22 districts to obtain the maximum contribution from inventors and their inventions for the industrial development of Sri Lanka while protecting the intellectual property rights of inventors.

He said that among them were projects to recognize creative citizens, Awareness and Encouragement phase to create Sri Lankan innovations and to recognize hidden talent for the country’s economic development, Made in Sri Lanka Project, organizing International-level Invention Exhibition in Sri Lanka and SAARC Invention Exhibition in Sri Lanka and to establish a Centre for Scientific Inventions and Discoveries. In addition there were projects to organize National Exhibition and Trade Show Displaying Invention Power of 22 Districts, setting up Young Inventors Clubs in 10,000 schools including the North and East, establishment of Inventions Display and Sales Centre, providing legal assistance to inventors etc.

U.K. Dinuka Chintana Udugama (11) of Gnanodaya Maha Vidyalaya, Kalutara was granted a monetary award at this ceremony as the youngest inventor for his award winning invention the Weight Sensed Intravenous Transfusion Indicator.

Assistant Commissioners of Sri Lanka Inventors Commission Dr Gamika Prathapasinghe and Dr M.A. Wijeratne and veteran musician Dr W. D. Amaradeva were also present.