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Rs.1-Trn RDI fund to invest via VC funds

Business Standard  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched an INR 1 trillion (INR 1 Lakh Crore) research, development, and innovation (RDI) fund designed to stimulate private sector-led research and technological advancements across India. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will serve as the nodal ministry for this fund, which will operate through a two-tiered structure. At the first level, a Special Purpose Fund (SPF) under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation will act as the principal custodian, channelling capital through a second layer of professional fund managers. These include alternate investment funds (AIFs), development finance institutions (DFIs), non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), and focused research organisations (FROs) such as the Technology Development Board (TDB), Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), and IIT Research Parks.Financing under the RDI fund will primarily take the form of long-term, low-interest, or in some cases, interest-free loans, equity infusions specifically for startups, and allocations to the deeptech fund of funds. The scheme explicitly does not support grants or short-term loans. Priority areas for funding include energy security and transition, quantum computing, robotics, space technology, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence (AI). The Prime Minister emphasized the government's commitment to prioritizing the "ease of doing research" to cultivate a modern innovation ecosystem.