More Stories

Informist, Tuesday, Jul. 1, 2025

 

--Cabinet OKs INR-1-tln for research and development initiatives 

 

NEW DELHI – The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Research Development and Innovation Scheme with a corpus of INR 1 trillion to scale up research, development and innovation in strategic and sunrise sectors. "... RDI (Research Development and Innovation) Scheme aims to provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenors at low or nil interest rates to spur private sector investment in RDI," a government release said. 

 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced this scheme in the Interim Budget for 2024-25 (Apr-Mar). The scheme, designed to overcome the challenges in funding faced by the private sector, will provide growth and risk capital to sunrise and strategic sectors to facilitate innovation, adoption of technology, and enhance competitiveness. 

 

The governing board of Anusandhan National Research Foundation, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will provide strategic direction to the scheme. The government will release the INR-1-trillion fund to Anusandhan National Research Foundation through 50-year interest-free loans, which will then be lent to second-level fund managers via long-term concessional loans, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said. 

 

Second-level fund managers like special purpose vehicles, alternate investment funds, development financial institutions, and non-banking financial institutions will lend to individual projects. The support can be in the form of both debt and equity, the minister said. 

 

Contribution to deep-tech fund of funds or any other fund of funds meant for research, development and innovation may also be considered under the scheme, he added. As such, one of the key objectives of the scheme is to facilitate the setting up of a deep-tech fund of funds.

 

The strategic and sunrise sectors include energy security and transition, climate action, artificial intelligence and its application in agriculture, health, and education. It also includes biotechnology, biomanufacturing, pharma, medical devices, along with digital economy and technologies required for strategic reasons, economic security, self-reliance and public interest, the government listed out.   End

 

Reported by Priyasmita Dutta

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd, a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2025. All rights reserved.