RDI Fund clears first 19 fund managers, commits ₹7,131 crore
The Empowered Group of Secretaries on 8 October 2026 approved the first 19 Second Level Fund Managers of the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund: 14 Alternative Investment Funds and five Focused Research Organisations, with ₹7,131 crore committed. They will finance firms at Technology Readiness Level 4 and above, and are expected to raise equal private capital.
Syllabus: GS2 · Government Policies; GS3 · Investment Models; GS3 · Science & Technology
Why this matters for UPSC
GS3 science and technology and investment models: Prelims can ask how the RDI Scheme's two-tier funding works, who runs ANRF and what Technology Readiness Levels and Alternative Investment Funds are; Mains, about financing private research.
Why it matters
A small Indian company with a promising battery or drone design often stalls between the laboratory and the market, because banks will not lend for long, risky research. The RDI Fund now has 19 managers who can give such firms long, cheap loans or equity, so a working prototype can be scaled into a product instead of being sold abroad or abandoned. Each manager is meant to bring in as much private money as the government puts in, which roughly doubles the ₹7,131 crore committed. The larger issue is India's low private spending on research and its reliance on imported technology in strategic sectors.
Prelims pointers
- Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF): statutory body under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023; it subsumed the Science and Engineering Research Board.
- ANRF Governing Board, chaired by the Prime Minister, gives the RDI Scheme strategic direction; its Executive Council approves guidelines and recommends fund managers.
- Empowered Group of Secretaries, led by the Cabinet Secretary: approves fund managers, sectors and scheme changes, and reviews performance.
- Nodal department for the RDI Scheme: Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
- Two tiers: Special Purpose Fund in ANRF as custodian; second-level fund managers lend at low or nil interest, or take equity in startups.
- Technology Readiness Level: NASA-devised scale from TRL 1 (basic principles observed) to TRL 9 (system proven in operation).
- Alternative Investment Funds: privately pooled funds regulated by SEBI under the 2012 AIF Regulations; venture capital is Category I, hedge funds Category III.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, consider the following statements:
1. The Governing Board of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation, which gives the scheme strategic direction, is chaired by the Prime Minister.
2. The Empowered Group of Secretaries that approves the scheme's second-level fund managers is led by the Cabinet Secretary.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer
Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2
1 is correct: the Governing Board of ANRF, chaired by the Prime Minister, provides overarching strategic direction to the RDI Scheme. 2 is correct: the Empowered Group of Secretaries is led by the Cabinet Secretary and approves second-level fund managers, sectors and scheme changes.
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