Govt considering venture capital fund for R&D

The government today said it is examining a proposal for setting up a venture capital fund to promote drug discovery in India.

"The department of pharamceutical is in the process of examining a proposal to set up a venture fund for promoting pharma discovery and innovation," Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Srikant Kumar Jena said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

He said that currently the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy is preparing details of the fund.

Earlier, the government had announced that it is planning to set up a Rs 10,000-crore venture capital (VC) fund for financing new drug discovery projects in the country.

The country spends about Rs 2,000 crore every year on Research & Development activities. While the government contributes Rs 500 crore to this, the rest comes from the private sector.

The proposed funding of Rs 10,000 crore, which includes substantial contribution from the private pharma industry under the public private partnership (PPP) model, is likely to bring about a favourable environment for drug innovation in the country and to make India a hub for new drug discoveries.

Last year, the Department of Pharmaceuticals had prepared a white paper on promoting research and development funding in the country, and submitted the proposal to the Prime Minister's Office for approval.

As per the proposal, the government intends to undertake pro-active steps on four fronts -- building infrastructure for talent and research, encouraging public-private partnerships in infrastructure development, providing financial incentives to encourage innovation, and shaping a favourable regulatory environment.