New Delhi [India], May 13 : The Technology Development Board (TDB) has received 124 proposals worth nearly Rs 25,000 crore within three months of launching the call for proposals under the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme, with funding demand from the scheme estimated at around Rs 10,000 crore, TDB Secretary Rajesh Kumar Pathak toldon Wednesday.
"When we launched our proposal on 1st of February, within three months we got 124 proposals with Rs 25,000 crore, project worth and the ask from RDI is around Rs 10,000 crore. So lots of interest is there in this scheme," Pathak said in an exclusive interview within the national capital.
He was speaking on the sidelines of the first agreement signing with Emerging Technology Enterprises (ETEs) and the first fund release to ETEs under the RDI Scheme by the Technology Development Board as the Second Level Fund Manager (SLFM).
Pathak said the TDB signed the first agreement under the RDI framework and also initiated the first fund disbursement from the Research, Development and Innovation Fund (RDIF).
"TDB has become a second-level fund manager under RDIF," he said, adding that this is the first agreement TDB signed today, and then TDB will disburse the first fund.
Speaking on the progress of the Rs 1 lakh crore RDI corpus announced by the government, the TDB Secretary said the corpus was approved only last year, and implementation mechanisms took time to be put in place.
"As you are aware, last year, only this RDI corpus was approved by the Cabinet. So it took time to develop the guidelines and all. We became a second-level fund manager only in the month of January. So we launched our call for proposals," he said.
Pathak added that while no fund disbursement took place in the previous financial year, the current fiscal year would witness a significant rise in deployment.
"This year, since this is the first disbursement, once it is done, there will be a flood of disbursements. Hopefully, in this financial year, you will see a lot of fund disbursement," he said.
On industry participation, Pathak said private investors, startups and companies have shown strong interest in the scheme.
He further said that beyond financial support, the government has also created a dedicated vertical under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) to support startups and deep-tech firms through market access and partnerships.
"Funding is one part. Thereafter, the government is going to handhold them. We have created a separate vertical in ANRF. They are going to help those companies in market-making and partnerships," he said.
Pathak said Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been identified as one of the five sunrise sectors eligible for support under the RDI framework.
"If a company or startup is really coming up with good ideas using AI to solve Indian problems, then funds will be made available to them," he added.
The TDB Secretary also said the Rs 1 lakh crore corpus has the potential to multiply over time as repayments from funded firms will remain within the innovation ecosystem for 50 years instead of returning immediately to the Consolidated Fund of India.
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