The government’s RDI fund, which was approved by the Union Cabinet on Oct 11, is designed to spur research and innovation within the private-sector. The scheme aims to operate through a two-tier financing model.
First, a Special Purpose Fund within the ANRF will manage the Rs 1 lakh crore corpus, channelling it to second level fund managers such as AIFs, DFIs and NBFCs, who will then look to invest that money in promising research and innovation projects.
Shah hopes that this move will truly benefit Indian innovators, especially at a time when tariff attacks from the United States have pushed back the economy, thereby spurring hunger for domestic innovation.
Nilesh Shah, who was one of the star panelists in NDTV Profit’s IGNITE event, spoke at length about Swadeshi innovation, pointing out how Indian consumers must not ‘expect a Mercedes right away, without settling for an Indica first’.
