Like any other lab we are open to collaborations. However, there are few philosophical and practical points we would like to share. This is specially for projects which involve exchange of specimens and molecular data, and collaborators out side India.
The basis for collaboration is mutual respect, sharing of work responsibilities and suitable recognition for our contributions. We are not collectors and we don't simply supply specimens or tissue for other projects. We can be academic/research partners, however, and we can help you in various ways. Many outside scientists contact us for specimens for phylogenetic, taxonomic and other biological research. As a policy, we do not send you tissue for DNA extraction or specimens for any work. Our lab spends substantial amount of funds and time in negotiating collecting permits with the state and federal authorities concerned, and then actually doing the field work. Therefore, our policy is that we will provide DNA sequences or other kind of biological information to our collaborators in return for coauthorships. We have a good collection facility at National Pusa Collection (NPC), IARI, New Delhi where we can store and curate specimens, and a modern wet lab in our lab where we can quickly sequence specimens. So we can rapidly generate and share molecular or other kind of biological information for collaborative projects if you request it, provided we first agree on co-authorships or other suitable academic exchanges. Indian rules and regulations about export of biological material are very strict, and we don't send specimens outside India without prior approvals (as per Biological Diversity Act, 2002 http://nbaindia.org/). We encourage to be academic partners rather than specimen suppliers.
