Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Dec 2: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology; Minister of State for Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today said that the next major global revolution will be bio-driven, and that India is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation on the strength of its deep-tech capabilities, robust startup ecosystem and rising domestic institutional capital.
In an exclusive “FireChat” session organised by the “Indian Venture and Alternate Capital Association” (IVCA) in New Delhi, Dr Jitendra Singh described the recently announced Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development, and Innovation (RDI) Fund as “one of the most unique and forward-looking initiatives taken by the Government” to support high-risk, high-reward research in frontier technologies, and to catalyse a new era of partnership between Government, industry and investors. He said the Fund has been designed with a liberal and long-term mindset, with low-interest, patient capital and risk-sharing features that send a clear signal of the Government’s intent to crowd-in private investment rather than crowd it out.
The Minister highlighted that India is rapidly emerging as a deep-tech and science-led innovation power, backed by strong political will at the highest level. He said that, unlike in the past when India often lagged by a decade or more in adopting new technologies, the country is now among the first to frame dedicated biotechnology policies and to open strategic sectors such as space and atomic energy to private participation. He credited the leadership and vision Prime Minister Narendra Modi for breaking long-standing taboos and bringing science, technology, and innovation to the centre of the national development agenda.
Elaborating on the structural change underway in India’s innovation landscape, Dr Jitendra Singh said that the last decade was defined by the digital revolution in areas such as IT, fintech, e-commerce and software, but the coming decade will be led by deep-tech India across sectors like space, bio-manufacturing, green hydrogen, quantum technologies, and advanced materials. He noted that these sectors are science-intensive, capital-intensive, and IP-intensive, and therefore demand a very different kind of risk-tolerant, patient capital than traditional manufacturing or infrastructure.
Dr Jitendra Singh pointed out that the global success stories of advanced economies have been written through the active participation of the private sector, philanthropic investors, and domestic institutional capital. For many years, he observed, India’s mindset was to look up to the Government for everything, and even in sunrise sectors like space or nuclear, the private sector did not anticipate the scale or speed at which reforms would be undertaken. “Even the private sector was not prepared for the kind of proactive, liberal and decisive approach that this Government has brought in sectors like space, nuclear and biotechnology,” he said, adding that the RDI Fund is also intended to help the private sector overcome legacy hesitation and step into frontier areas with confidence.
Referring to India’s fast-growing startup ecosystem, the Minister emphasised that innovation is no longer confined to the big metros. He informed that out of nearly 1.75-2 lakh startups that now place India as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, around 60,000 belong to Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns. Calling it a myth that cutting-edge innovation happens only in Bengaluru, Mumbai, or Hyderabad, he said that many of the most determined and aspirational founders are emerging from small towns and government schools, driven by a strong desire to prove themselves and create value.
On questions related to interest rates and operationalisation of the RDI Fund, Dr Jitendra Singh said the Government is approaching the initiative with an open and learning mindset. He indicated that the margins could be calibrated based on the first calls and the response pattern, and emphasised that both Government and investors must be willing to learn from each other’s constraints, strengths, and inputs. “This has to be built in a spirit of very close mutual understanding and trust, not as a contest where one side tries to appear better than the other,” he said.
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