National Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Assessment Framework

Overview

The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India invites inputs and comments from the public, research institutions, industry stakeholders, and academia on the draft "National Technology Readiness Level (TRL) Assessment Framework."

As India’s R&D ecosystem expands through initiatives like the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), there is a critical need for a unified, transparent, and data-driven standard to measure technology maturity. Currently, various organizations use modified versions of TRL definitions, leading to inconsistencies in assessing research translation.

To address this, a comprehensive TRL Assessment Tool and Framework has been developed in consultation with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and a multidisciplinary team of experts from industry, academia, and research labs.

Key Features of the Framework

The framework establishes a structured and standardized approach for assessing Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) across sectors. It ensures consistency in evaluation, introduces a multi level assessment methodology and provides sector specific customization to support accurate and transparent technology assessment.

Harmonized & Comparable

Harmonizes definitions and assessment criteria to ensure comparability between scientific projects supported under various national missions.

Three Level Assessment

Level 0: Preliminary screening questions to estimate the TRL band. Level 1: Top-level questions to determine the "Anticipated TRL". Level 2: Detailed verification questions requiring supporting documentation to validate the TRL.

Sector Specific Customization

: While the core framework is universal, it includes specific additional questionnaires for the Healthcare (Pharma/Biotech) and Software sectors to address their unique requirements.

The Vision: A National Digital Platform