NEW DELHI: To assist the commercialisation of indigenous applied sciences in sectors earlier dominated by the general public area, together with area and nuclear, the Ministry of Science and Technology has introduced long-term financing for personal enterprises at concessional rates of interest of two–4 per cent, with tenures of as much as 15 years.
The initiative was launched via the primary Open Call of the Technology Development Board (TDB) beneath the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF). Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh described it as a “rare and significant departure” from standard authorities funding fashions.
The RDI Fund, with a complete corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore, is geared toward offering long-term financing to personal enterprises. The minister stated the construction has been designed to ease entry to capital for technology builders whereas sustaining monetary self-discipline.
He famous that whereas governments have historically promoted philanthropy or CSR-led investments, direct government-backed monetary assist for private-sector innovation has remained restricted. The RDI Fund, he stated, seeks to bridge this hole by enabling personal enterprises to scale applied sciences in sectors that have been earlier largely confined to the general public area.
Dr Singh noticed that the opening up of strategic areas corresponding to area and nuclear sectors to personal participation has altered long-standing conventions. The RDI Fund has been designed to assist this transition by lowering monetary threat whereas guaranteeing accountability. It presents long-term, reasonably priced financing and contains equity-linked choices to share threat, thereby facilitating accountable commercialisation.
Referring to the response to the primary name, the minister stated practically 191 proposals have been acquired, with a big majority coming from the personal sector. This, he stated, displays rising confidence amongst personal enterprises in the federal government’s dedication to innovation-led development. He added that it was essential to make sure purposes align with the spirit of the scheme and that funding is used for real technology improvement and scale-up.
The funding framework offers for collateral-free financing, with no requirement for private or company ensures. Proposals will likely be evaluated on scientific, technological, monetary and industrial advantage, with outlined timelines for appraisal and disbursement. The initiative doesn’t provide grant funding and is concentrated on enabling sustainable industrial deployment of applied sciences.
The RDI Fund was accredited by the Union Cabinet in July 2025 and launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2025 as a part of the federal government’s long-term imaginative and prescient to construct indigenous technological capabilities and strengthen India’s innovation-led economic system.