Foundation Day progg. details of DSIR announced by Dr. Jitendra Singh

Marking the 42nd Foundation Day of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) under the Ministry of Science & Technology (MoST), Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, PMO, Department of Space and Department of Atomic Energy, Dr. Jitendra Singh, today announced a major relaxation of the mandatory three-year existence condition for deep-tech startups to avail recognition under DSIRs Industrial Research and Development Promotion Program.

The move, aimed at accelerating India’s StartUp ecosystem, is expected to provide early momentum to early starters or beginners of StartUp projects as well as promising innovators and entrepreneurs.

Addressing the gathering, the Minister said that while the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund has generated unprecedented enthusiasm across the country, it is designed to support startups that have graduated to a certain level of technological maturity. “For early-stage innovators or Startups, a wide basket of schemes already exists across departments such as DST, CSIR, TDB and others. The removal of the three-year existence requirement is a significant incentive to help deep-tech startups scale faster, even before they are fully on their own,” he said, adding that the reform reflects the Government’s trust in India’s innovators and its confidence in their sustainability and intent

Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, Secretary, DSIR, highlighted the department’s critical role in recognising in-house R&D units, SIROs and publicly funded research institutions across the country.

Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor, underscored the importance of technology sovereignty in the current geopolitical context.(updated on 4th january 2026)