New Delhi, January 19 (IANS). Research Development Innovation (RDI) funding for industry-supported projects will begin later this month. The funding program has entered the implementation phase, and two public sector institutions are set to fund industry-supported projects. This information was given by the Ministry of Science and Technology on Monday.
The ministry said the decision was taken after reviewing the Research Development Innovation (RDI) Fund Scheme in a meeting chaired by Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology.
During the meeting, Dr Jitendra Singh was briefed about the progress of the RDI scheme, which was approved by the Union Cabinet on July 1 last year and was formally launched by the Prime Minister on November 3 with the release of its implementation guidelines, notice inviting applications and the launch of a dedicated digital portal.
The ministry further said that the officials told Dr Jitendra Singh that the objective of the scheme is to support high-risk, high-impact research and strengthen relationships between laboratories, startups and industry.
The Ministry said in the statement that the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has approved the Technology Development Board (TDB) and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) as the first Second-Level Fund Managers (SLFM) under the RDI Fund.
The Union Minister said that strengthening private sector participation in research and development remains a core objective of the RDI framework. The scheme aims to support translational research and build stronger relationships between public research institutions, startups and industry, so that scientific results can more effectively move to commercial and societal use.
–IANS
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