RDI Fund Picks C-CAMP as a Focused Research Organisation for Biotech Start-ups, Commits ₹500 Crore
The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), Bengaluru, has been chosen as one of five Focused Research Organisations (FROs) under the government's Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, with an allocation of ₹500 crore.
C-CAMP plans to bring in private partners and investors to build a total pool of over ₹1,000 crore for deep-tech life-science start-ups in health, agriculture and environment.
The first group of 19 Second-Level Fund Managers (SLFMs) has a total allocation of ₹7,131 crore. It has 5 FROs and 14 venture capital (VC) firms. The other four FROs are IISc, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras and BITS Pilani. C-CAMP is the only dedicated biotech body on the list.
The RDI Fund (₹1 lakh crore over six years) was approved by the Union Cabinet on 1 July 2025 and launched on 3 November 2025. It has already funded 22 start-ups directly, two of them from C-CAMP's portfolio (Eyestem Research and Peptris Technologies).
The fund backs technologies at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4 and above, meaning ideas that have moved beyond basic lab work and are closer to the market.
Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund: Low-Cost Money for Private Research
The Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, officially the RDI Scheme, is a ₹1 lakh crore government fund meant to push private companies and start-ups to do more research. Instead of giving free grants, it mainly gives long-term, low-cost or zero-interest loans and equity. It focuses on risky, high-impact technologies in "strategic and sunrise" sectors. It is housed inside the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF).
C-CAMP's ₹500 crore allocation flows through this two-tier system. As an FRO and SLFM, C-CAMP will choose biotech start-ups to back and try to bring in private co-investors, which is exactly the "crowd in private money" aim of the RDI Fund.
Technology Readiness Level (TRL): Measuring How Close an Idea Is to the Market
Technology Readiness Level, or TRL, is a simple 1-to-9 scale that tells us how "ready" a new technology is for real use. TRL 1 means scientists have only seen a basic principle on paper or in a lab. TRL 9 means the full product is working successfully in the real world. Governments, space agencies, armies and investors use this scale to decide what kind of money and support a project needs at each step.
The RDI Fund says it will fund only technologies at TRL 4 and above. This is why C-CAMP will look for biotech start-ups whose ideas have already been proven in the lab and now need money to become real products. The fund is designed to fill India's "valley of death".
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 set up by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023. It gives research money to universities, colleges and labs, and tries to get private companies to invest more in research. The RDI Fund's Special Purpose Fund sits inside ANRF.
C-CAMP's selection as a fund manager is part of the RDI Fund that ANRF hosts. Together, ANRF grants and the RDI Fund are meant to support an idea from the lab bench all the way to the market.
- C-CAMP allocation under RDI Fund: ₹500 crore; target consortium pool: over ₹1,000 crore
- First cohort of SLFMs: 19 (5 Focused Research Organisations + 14 VC firms); total allocation ₹7,131 crore
- The five FROs: C-CAMP, IISc, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, BITS Pilani
- RDI Fund: ₹1 lakh crore over six years; Cabinet approval 1 July 2025; launch 3 November 2025
- Start-ups funded directly so far: 22 (including Eyestem Research and Peptris Technologies from C-CAMP's portfolio)
- RDI funding criterion: TRL 4 and above
- C-CAMP: set up in 2009 by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), part of the Bangalore Life Science Cluster with NCBS and inStem