Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme

News: Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme with a corpus of Rs. One lakh Crore.

About Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme

• Aim: To boost research, development, and innovation in India, especially in strategic and emerging (sunrise) sectors
• Overseeing Authority: Prime Minister-led ANRF Governing Board, Executive Council of ANRF and empowered Group of Secretaries (EGoS).
• Nodal Department : Department of Science and Technology (DST) to run and coordinate the scheme.
• It has two-Tier Funding Structure:
  • Special Purpose Fund (SPF): This fund will be under Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) and will hold the main corpus of money.
  • Second-Level Fund Managers: These are expert agencies that will give loans or equity to companies/startups for R&D projects. The support will be in the form of: Long-term loans at low or zero interest, Equity investment, especially for startups and contributions to other RDI-related fund

Main Goals of the RDI Scheme

• Support Private Sector Innovation: It is to encourage private companies to invest more in research and development and focus on new and important areas like clean energy, deep-tech, AI, space, defence, etc.
• Fund High-Level Projects: It provide financial support for projects that are closer to real-world application (high Technology Readiness Levels).
• Help Acquire Critical Technologies: It support companies in buying or developing technologies that are strategically important for India.
• Create Deep-Tech Fund of Funds: A special fund to invest in deep-tech startups and innovation-based ventures.