NIC's Rs 1,000-cr innovation fund in three months

The National Innovation Council (NIC) initiative to set up a fund with a corpus of Rs 1,000 crore to encourage early-stage innovation will be in place in the next two to three months.

Arun Maira, member of NIC and the Planning Commission, said today the fund will be used to support new ideas with potential to bridge developmental gaps in health, education, urban and rural infrastructure, transport and sanitation.

The 17-member NIC headed by Sam Pitroda, advisor to the Prime Minister, was set up in August last year. The council, which functions within the Prime Minister’s Office, has been mandated to prepare a road map for a decade of innovation 2010-2020 and to evolve an Indian model of innovation to meet national goals.

Speaking at an Indian School of Business symposium on strengthening research-to-marketplace linkages, organised on Friday, Maira said: “Foreign venture capital (VC) funds look for mid-size ventures that have proven themselves. In India, no VC company provides small amounts to ventures which can produce results in health and education for people in India.”