Government Deep-Tech Fund Hits Funding Pause
Fresh applications under the ₹1 lakh crore RDI Fund have been paused as the Technology Development Board awaits funds to extend new offers to selected companies.
The Technology Development Board (TDB) has paused fresh funding invitations under the government's ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, a programme designed to support private companies working on advanced technologies. The Board said invitations would close after September 30 due to administrative reasons.
The Indian Express reported that multiple sources attributed the pause to the availability of funds. TDB, which is currently selecting beneficiaries under the programme, has not received the money needed to extend fresh offers to companies after its initial allocation was used in the first funding round.
FUNDING SNAPSHOT
The RDI Fund has a planned corpus of ₹1 lakh crore over six years. TDB's first round covered 22 companies and involved ₹2,192 crore in RDI support.
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) is the administrative custodian of the fund. The Indian Express reported that the government has allocated ₹23,000 crore to the programme so far, including ₹3,000 crore in the previous Budget and ₹20,000 crore in the current Budget.
TDB received ₹2,000 crore earlier in 2026 and used that allocation during its first selection round. The Board subsequently finalised another set of selections in August and shortlisted additional applicants, but had not issued letters of intent to the companies selected in the second round at the time of the report.
DEEP-TECH SUPPORT
The RDI Fund targets areas including artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, robotics and space, providing long-term financing to private-sector research and technology development.
More than 300 companies have applied under the programme, while about 100 had been appraised and 35 selected across the first two rounds, according to The Indian Express. The first cohort included companies working in areas such as space technology, quantum communications and robotics.
The government created the RDI Fund in 2025 to encourage private investment in research and development and support the commercialisation of strategic technologies. The programme is housed under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation and is designed to provide low-cost, long-term financing, with eligible companies generally required to mobilise a share of project costs from non-government sources.