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Union cabinet clears ₹1 lakh crore to boost R&D in sunrise sectors
Sunrise sectors include clean energy, climate tech, deep tech (quantum, robotics, space), AI in key areas, biotech, digital agriculture, among others.
The Union cabinet on Tuesday approved ₹1 lakh crore aimed to boost research, development, and innovation in sunrise and strategic sectors, with a focus on scaling private sector efforts and acquiring critical technologies.
The Research Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme was unveiled by Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during a press conference in New Delhi. Highlighting its industry-driven approach, he noted that the scheme was crafted through extensive consultations with experts and is aimed at supporting projects that have advanced beyond early-stage research to the prototype development phase.
“When a company moves beyond the prototype stage, it often faces the ‘valley of death’, a critical phase where many innovations fail due to lack of support,” Vaishnaw said. “This is exactly when timely assistance is needed to turn a promising prototype into a viable product.”
The scheme targets sunrise sectors such as clean energy, climate tech, deep tech (quantum, robotics, space), AI in key areas, biotech, digital agriculture, and also interestingly technologies required for strategic reasons, economic security, self-reliance or public interest.
“Countries that invest heavily in R&D see long-term gains in productivity and technological advancement across industries,” Vaishnaw said.
The 2024-25 Economic Survey noted that even though India has increased the gross expenditure on research and development (GERD) from approximately ₹60,196 crore in 2011 to about ₹127,381 crore in 2021, it still is a mere 0.64% of the GDP. The survey noted that this remains “insufficient and remains low compared to many countries that have forged ahead in R&D”.
The way the funding for the scheme works is that the government will channel ₹1 lakh crore to the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) as a 50-year interest-free loan. ANRF, a government body set up to boost research and innovation, will create a special fund that offers concessional finance to second-level fund managers, who will then evaluate and select individual projects for funding, through both equity and debt.
The RDI scheme will be guided by the ANRF governing board, chaired by the prime minister. Its executive council will set guidelines and recommend fund managers and project types. A group of secretaries, led by the cabinet secretary, will approve changes and review progress. The secretary of the relevant sector will be included in the group. For instance, if a project involves AI, the secretary of the IT ministry will be part of the decision-making body. The department of science and technology will be the nodal agency for implementation.
Other key decisions taken by the Union cabinet on Tuesday included a nationwide sports strategy ‘Khelo Bharat Niti 2025’, a key ₹1,853-crore road project in Tamil Nadu and ₹99,446-crore Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme.
