Technology Development Board issues first call of proposal under RDI fund

The statutory body invited applications on a rolling basis in priority areas such as energy transition, AI, quantum computing, robotics and space

Marking a key step in operationalising the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, the Technology Development Board (TDB) on Wednesday announced the first call for proposals. The statutory body has invited applications on a rolling basis in priority sectors, including energy security and transition, artificial intelligence (AI) and its applications, quantum computing, robotics and space.

 

TDB, along with the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), are two focused research organisations that have been nominated by the government as second-level fund managers for the proposed fund. The RDI fund, worth Rs 1 lakh crore, was launched last year.

 

Rajesh Kumar Pathak, secretary of TDB, noted that to be eligible to apply, start-ups and companies must be headquartered in India, with majority ownership held domestically. In addition, any intellectual property or patents should also be registered in India. The fund supports projects with technology readiness level (TRL) 4 and above, largely including entities that have moved beyond ideation and theory.

   

Pathak added that for processing applications, the evaluation will be completed within eight weeks of receiving the proposals, and funds will be disbursed within 12 weeks of evaluation. TDB has set up an investment committee, composed of members from industry and the investment community, which will evaluate the proposals.

 

According to data available on the official website, TDB plans to invest in eligible entities through three routes — loans, equity, or optionally convertible debentures (OCDs) or compulsory convertible debentures (CCDs). In the case of a loan, the rate of interest could be 3–4 per cent for a maximum period of 12–15 years. OCDs and CCDs are loan instruments that start as debt but can be converted into equity.

 

While the RDI fund provides financing of up to 50 per cent of the total assessed project cost, the remaining cost should be met by the project proponent through self-financing or commercial sources.

 

As a second-level fund manager, TDB has received Rs 2,000 crore as part of an initial allocation from the first-level custodian, the Special Purpose Fund, which is set up under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation.

 

While TDB and BIRAC are two second-level fund managers chosen on a nomination basis, the government will finalise others in the coming months. “By the April–May timeframe, we will select a few fund managers, and then the fund managers may take another 6–8 months to actually make their investment decisions,” Abhay Karandikar, secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), said at another press conference this week. DST is the nodal ministry for the fund.

 

In Budget 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman topped up the fund with a Rs 20,000 crore allocation, similar to last year’s budgetary allocation.