Centre to frame criteria to finance pvt sector deep-tech research soon

The government will soon frame the criteria to finance private research projects from the ₹1 trillion corpus announced last year to boost innovation, minister of state with independent charge for science and technology Jitendra Singh told Mint.

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), a division of the Department of Science and Technology that forges collaborations among the industry, academia, government departments and research institutions, will finalize the nature of the research funding, the sectors to be financed and the terms, the minister said. The funds will be disbursed over five years.

The objective is to stimulate innovation—essential for India to increase value addition in the manufacturing sector, which is often criticised for relatively low-end assembly work using imported components and know-how. Basic research is seen as a key requirement to make high-end products, move up the value chain and attract more global firms diversifying out of China.