Modi launches ₹1 lakh-crore RDI fund at ESTIC

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Emerging Science & Technology Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, unveiling a ₹1 lakh-crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme Fund to catalyse private R&D. He also announced the Anusandhan Research Foundation to strengthen research across universities and industry.

Big push for private-sector research

The RDI Fund targets high-risk, high-impact projects that often struggle for capital. It aims to derisk early stages, crowd-in private money, and accelerate commercialisation. The Prime Minister framed the corpus as a bridge from lab to market, signalling policy support for deep-tech, hardware and frontier science.

Anusandhan Research Foundation for academia-industry links

The new foundation will coordinate competitive grants, fellowships and centres of excellence. It is designed to tighten links among universities, startups and industry. The goal is steady pipelines of translational research, better IP generation, and faster scale-up of breakthroughs into domestic manufacturing.

ESTIC 2025: themes and participants

Over 3,000 delegates, including Nobel laureates, scientists and industry leaders, are attending. Sessions span eleven themes: advanced materials and manufacturing; artificial intelligence; bio-manufacturing; blue economy; digital communications; electronics and semiconductors; emerging agriculture tech; energy; environment and climate; health and medical technologies; quantum science and technology; and space technologies. A vision document and a coffee table book on scientific achievements were released.

Exam Oriented Facts

• Event: ESTIC 2025 inauguration in New Delhi on 3 November 2025.
• Key measure: ₹1 lakh-crore RDI Fund to boost private-sector R&D.
• Institution: Anusandhan Research Foundation to support academia-industry research.
• Themes: 11 areas including AI, semiconductors, quantum, space and energy.

Strategic context and recent milestones

The Prime Minister positioned India as a technology pioneer, citing pandemic-era vaccine delivery built on digital public infrastructure. He referenced the successful launch of GSAT-7R, underlining momentum in space communications. The package signals a shift from consumption-led tech to research-intensive innovation, with policy focus on deep-tech, resilient supply chains, and scale-ready platforms. The three-day conclave now moves to partnerships, deal flow, and roadmaps to absorb the new corpus into time-bound programmes.