Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh launches first RDI Fund call

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, and MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh today launched the first Open Call of the Technology Development Board (TDB) under the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), with the objective of strengthening India’s innovation ecosystem by supporting the commercialisation of indigenous technologies through structured, long-term financing.

Addressing the event, Dr. Jitendra Singh, said that the initiative represents a rare and significant departure from conventional government funding models. He observed that while governments have traditionally encouraged philanthropy or CSR-led investments, direct government-backed financial support to private sector innovation has been limited. He said the RDI Fund seeks to bridge this gap by enabling private enterprises to scale technologies in sectors that were earlier largely confined to the public domain.(updated on 4th Feb 26)