Crucially, the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund will be managed by professionals, not Government, with investment decisions made by independent committees of experts from finance, industry and technology. In design and intent, it presents a historic opportunity for the Government and industry to work together and innovate across sectors. The Department of Science and Technology’s extensive consultations with all stakeholders augurs well for an efficient execution.
The RDI Fund has the potential to transform India’s deep-tech ecosystem and provide India the strategic autonomy it needs in a world where China is trying to develop and enforce a new set of global trading norms on the ruins of the old liberal order.
Learning from history
There are historical parallels worth remembering. Not many of us realise that the US was not the global leader in technology and innovation at the end of World War II. Its transformation began with ‘Science – the Endless Frontier’, a 1945 report commissioned by President Roosevelt and authored by Vannevar Bush, which led to the creation of NSF and other agencies.
It argued that to combat disease, ensure national security, raise living standards and create new industries and jobs, the government must invest in R&D, create scientific infrastructure, develop talent and incentivize the private sector to invest in R&D. This vision powered America’s post-war dominance. As Harvard professor Tarun Khanna has observed, “In recorded human history, there is no society which has transitioned from middle income to high income without a focus on and significant investments in R&D”. For India to achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047, innovation and technological excellence must become a national mission – one that is shared across sectors and institutions.
All hands on deck
The Government, at the highest level, has played its strongest hand yet. Now, others, too, must rise to the occasion. All arms of the Government must recognise that this is a critical national bet, which demands urgency, conviction and courage. Occasional mistakes are inevitable in breakthrough research – they should be treated as learning, not lapses. If implementation becomes risk averse, the opportunity will slip away. India is already behind in R&D investments; if we play it too safe now, we will be sorry later. Countries around the world-not just China- have found ways to give domestic technologies preferential access to their markets, allowing their companies to hone their products to perfection before taking on the world. Unless we do the same, many of our potential future global winners may be still born and our pathbreaking initiatives may underachieve their potential
The path ahead
In global innovation ecosystems – from the US to China, Japan, and South Korea – the most valuable companies are built on intellectual property and human capital. In contrast, Indian industry has historically underinvested in proprietary innovation. They have the financial and organisational muscle to take cutting-edge research from lab to market. They must invest more in R&D, collaborate with academia, acquire or fund promising startups and place more faith in Indian science. Our startups are already showing the way.
India’s DPI – Aadhar, UPI, ONDC and more – has already shown how visionary public policy, executed at scale, can transform governance and inclusion. The RDI Fund has the potential to do the same for innovation. The tools are in place, the timing is right. If the Government, industry and academia pull together, the RDI Fund could be the start of a new innings – one where India not only participates in the technology race but sets the pace.
