Supportive regulations to promote R&D will guide govt's approach: FM

Supportive policies and light-touch regulations to promote research & development will guide the government's approach, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

Supportive policies and light-touch regulations to build domestic capacities and promote research & development will guide the government's approach, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

Presenting the Union Budget 2022-23, Sitharaman said government contribution will be provided for R&D in "sunrise opportunities".

"Artificial Intelligence (AI), Geospatial Systems and Drones, semiconductor and its ecosystem, Space Economy, genomics and pharmaceuticals, green energy, and clean mobility systems have immense potential to assist sustainable development at scale and modernise the country," she said.

These areas provide employment opportunities for youth and make Indian industry more efficient and competitive, the minister added.

"Supportive policies, light-touch regulations, facilitative actions to build domestic capacities, and promotion of R&D will guide the government's approach," Sitharaman said.

She added that for R&D in these sunrise opportunities - in addition to efforts of collaboration among academia, industry and public institutions - government contribution will be provided.

The minister said five per cent of annual collections under the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) will be allocated to enable affordable broadband and mobile service proliferation in rural and remote areas.

This, she said, will promote R&D and commercialisation of technologies and solutions.

Also, defence R&D will be opened up for industry, startups and academia with 25 per cent of defence R&D budget earmarked, Sitharaman added.