**Executive Summary**
Dr. Jitendra Singh interacted with industry leaders in Delhi during the RDI Fund Outreach Programme, describing the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) Fund as a catalyst for private-sector-led innovation. The initiative aims to accelerate India's deep-tech growth by enabling private participation in sectors like space and atomic energy. The speech was delivered on December 13, 2023.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **RDI Fund Purpose:**
* Empowers India's private sector to drive R&D, IP creation, and commercialization in frontier technologies.
* Supports the private sector and accelerates India's collective rise in deep-tech.
* Acts like "the initial push to start a stalled engine", enabling the private sector to scale up and contribute to national progress.
* **Financial Architecture:**
* Offers unsecured loans without collateral or guarantees.
* Provides minimal interest rates of less than 3 percent.
* Enables industry to mobilize resources from external partners, investors, and philanthropic foundations through project cost-sharing mechanisms.
* **Wider National Ecosystem:**
* Part of a wider ecosystem including missions in AI, semiconductors, quantum technologies, cyber-physical systems, MedTech, clean energy, and the reform-driven expansion of the space and nuclear sectors.
**Impact Analysis**
**Private Sector**
* **Impact:** Enabled to take on ambitious, high-risk research, innovate, and grow globally competitive, with financial support and unprecedented trust from the government.
* **Action Required:** Seize the opportunity presented by the RDI Fund, scale up innovation efforts, and contribute to national progress.
**India's Innovation Ecosystem**
* **Impact:** Strengthened innovation value chain, fostering discovery, development, and large-scale deployment. Aims to drive India's deep-tech transformation and achieve a win-win model for industry, society, and the nation.
* **Action Required:** Work towards national progress with trust and conviction.
**External Partners, Investors, Philanthropic foundations**
* **Impact:** To contribute to the research through cost-sharing mechanisms.
* **Action Required:** Mobilize resources and partner with researchers.
Key Entities Referenced
RDI Fund: ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) Fund designed to boost private-sector led innovation and R&D in India.
Jitendra Singh: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, who described the RDI Fund and its goals.
Ministry of Science & Technology: The ministry under which the RDI fund is initiated
Delhi: Location of the RDI Fund Outreach Programme.
Ministry of Science & Technology
Dr. Jitendra Singh interacts with Industry leaders,
entrepreneurs, and innovators of Delhi during the
RDI Fund Outreach Programme:
Describes ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development, Innovation
(RDI) Fund a transformational catalyst to boost private-sector
led innovation;
Government enabling industry to “accelerate and lead”
India’s deep-tech growth: Dr. Jitendra Singh
The initiative reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bold
reforms, which have opened sectors such as space, atomic
energy, and advanced technologies to private participation,
says the Minister
प्रव तथ: 13 DEC 2025 4:51PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh today
described the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) Fund as a historic catalyst
designed to empower India’s private sector to drive the next wave of R&D, IP creation, and
commercialization in frontier technologies.
Addressing the RDI Fund Outreach Programme in New Delhi, the Minister said the initiative represents a
first-of-its-kind global model where the Government steps forward to financially enable private-sector
innovation through long-term, unsecured, low-interest loans and equity-based instruments, signalling
unprecedented trust and confidence in Indian industry.
“This is not charity or benevolence, it is a catalyst to support the private sector and accelerate India’s
collective rise in deep-tech,” the Minister stated.
Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted that across the world, major innovation ecosystems, such as those
supporting NASA, have relied on strong government backing. India is now adopting a similar strategy by
ensuring that private industry is equipped to take on ambitious, high-risk research and emerge globally
competitive.
Drawing an analogy, the Minister said the RDI Fund acts like “the initial push to start a stalled engine”,
after which the private sector is expected to take charge, scale up, and contribute significantly to national
progress. He added that the initiative reflects Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bold reforms, which have
opened sectors such as space, atomic energy, and advanced technologies to private participation at an
unprecedented pace.Dr. Jitendra Singh underscored the uniqueness of the RDI Fund’s financial architecture, describing it as a
global first in public financing for private-sector innovation. He highlighted that the Fund offers unsecured
loans without any collateral or guarantees, coupled with a minimal interest rate of less than 3 percent, a
rare precedent internationally.
The Minister also emphasized the flexibility built into the project cost-sharing mechanism, which enables
industry to mobilize resources from external partners, investors, and philanthropic foundations. He said
this framework reflects the Government’s courage, conviction and deep trust in India’s innovators and will
significantly strengthen the innovation value chain, seamlessly supporting the journey from discovery and
development to large-scale deployment.
The Minister noted that the RDI Fund is part of a wider national ecosystem that includes missions in AI,
semiconductors, quantum technologies, cyber-physical systems, MedTech, clean energy, and the reform-
driven expansion of the space and nuclear sectors.
In closing, Dr. Jitendra Singh reiterated that India stands at the threshold of a deep-tech transformation
powered by a confident, ambitious private sector.“If we move forward with courage, conviction, and trust,
this will become a win-win model for industry, society, and the nation,”he said, urging stakeholders to
seize the opportunity presented by the RDI Fund.*****
NKR/AK
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