Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh on Tuesday, 1 September called for significantly greater awareness about the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, warning that a surge in applications reflects widespread confusion about the fund's purpose and eligibility criteria. Speaking at the 30th Foundation Day of the Technology Development Board (TDB) in New Delhi, Singh cautioned applicants and stakeholders against treating the RDI Fund as a conventional loan facility.

The Core Warning: RDI Fund Is Not a Loan Window

Singh stated that the volume of applications received indicates that many prospective applicants fundamentally misunderstand what the RDI Fund is designed to do. The fund, he emphasised, is intended to support technology development that bridges laboratory research and real-world economic solutions — not to function as a credit line for general business purposes.

The minister urged the Technology Development Board to take an active outreach role, ensuring that eligible applicants fully understand the fund's scope, application process, and underlying intent before submitting proposals. He added that the funding process already has transparent safeguards in place, and that the government remains open to suggestions for strengthening them further.

TDB at 30: From Lab to Market, and Now to Global Champions

Reflecting on three decades of TDB's work, Singh said the board's first thirty years were defined by building the bridge between the laboratory and the marketplace. He set out an ambitious mandate for the next thirty: producing global technology champions from India.

Singh noted that TDB was established precisely to ensure that technologies do not remain confined to research institutions but are instead translated into products, solutions, and enterprises that improve citizens' quality of life, generate livelihoods, and contribute to the national economy. He stressed that while technology and policy frameworks are evolving rapidly, the mindset of stakeholders must keep pace with that change.

A Decade of Scientific Renaissance, Led by Startups

Singh credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with elevating science, technology, and innovation to the top of the government's policy agenda, describing the current period as a 'decade of scientific renaissance' in India. He highlighted the country's track record of cost-effective technological achievements as evidence of this momentum.

Notably, the minister pointed out that more than 50 per cent of Indian startups now originate from smaller towns — a signal, he argued, that entrepreneurship is no longer the preserve of metropolitan centres or younger demographics alone.

What the RDI Fund Is Meant to Do

The ₹1 lakh crore RDI Fund is part of the government's broader push to make India a self-reliant technology powerhouse. It is designed to fund research that has direct commercial and societal applicability, channelling public money into innovations that can scale into viable enterprises. Singh's remarks suggest the government is concerned that the fund's positioning as a large-ticket pool of capital has led many to approach it as a financing instrument rather than a technology-enablement mechanism.

As TDB enters its fourth decade, the pressure is on the board to sharpen both its communication strategy and its selection rigour — ensuring that the RDI Fund fulfils its mandate as a catalyst for India's next generation of deep-tech enterprises.