RDI Fund: How a ₹1 Lakh Crore Scheme Aims to Pull Private Money into Research
A member of NITI Aayog (the government's main policy think tank), Abhay Karandikar, said the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme should pull in private investment about ten times the size of the government's money. He was earlier Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The scheme aims to bring in nearly ₹10 lakh crore of investment over the next ten years and create new jobs.
The focus is on key technology areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology and space technology.
The RDI Fund has a corpus (total money pool) of ₹1 lakh crore. It gives mainly long-term, low-interest or zero-interest loans, and some equity, to private companies doing risky research. It does not give free grants.
In October 2026, the fund approved its first set of private fund managers. Reports say 19 fund managers were approved with a government commitment of about ₹7,131 crore. These managers are expected to bring in private money at least equal to the government's share.
Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund: Low-Cost Money for Private Research
The RDI Fund (officially the RDI Scheme) is a ₹1 lakh crore government fund to make private companies and startups do more research. The Union Cabinet approved it on 1 July 2025, and it was launched on 3 November 2025. Instead of grants, it mainly gives long-term loans at low or nil interest, and sometimes equity (a share in the company). The idea is that cheap, patient money will make private firms take on research that is too risky for normal bank loans.
The "ten times" target means each rupee of RDI money should attract about ten rupees of private money over a decade. The approval of the first fund managers is the step where government money actually starts reaching private research projects through investors who must also bring their own funds.
Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF): India's Apex Body for Funding Research
The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) is India's top body for funding and guiding scientific research. It was created by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023, which Parliament passed in August 2023. It gives research money to universities and labs, and it tries to get private companies to spend more on research. It replaced the older Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB).
The RDI Fund sits inside ANRF. ANRF's grants mostly support research in universities and labs, while the RDI Fund's loans and equity are meant for private firms. Together they are meant to cover research from the classroom to the market.
Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD): How a Country's Research Effort Is Measured
Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) is the total money spent on research and development (R&D) inside a country in one year, by the government, companies, universities and non-profits together. It is usually shown as a percentage of GDP so that countries of different sizes can be compared. India's GERD has long been low compared with leading research nations, which is why schemes like the RDI Fund focus on getting private companies to spend more.
In many advanced countries, private companies do most of the R&D. The RDI Fund's aim of a ten-fold private investment is a direct attempt to raise India's GERD by increasing the private share, rather than by the government spending everything itself.
- RDI Fund corpus: ₹1 lakh crore; approved by the Union Cabinet on 1 July 2025; launched on 3 November 2025
- Target stated in October 2026: about ten-fold private investment, nearly ₹10 lakh crore over ten years
- Focus areas named: artificial intelligence, biotechnology, space technology
- First 19 fund managers approved in October 2026 with about ₹7,131 crore of government commitment
- Funding mainly as long-term low or nil-interest loans; equity possible for startups; projects at TRL 4 and above
- ANRF: created by the ANRF Act, 2023; Governing Board chaired by the Prime Minister; ₹50,000 crore planned over 2023-28
- India's GERD: 0.84% of GDP in 2023-24 (0.64% in 2020-21)