Rs 1-lakh-cr R&D fund for pvt sector to be operational in next couple of months: Secy

New Delhi: The government is looking to operationalise in the next couple of months the Rs 1 lakh crore fund for research and development (R&D) by the private sector, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth said on Thursday. Seth said the government is working on how to structure the fund and how to operationalise it and has had discussions with people in the financial technology sector as well as people in the industry.

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Asked when the fund would be made operational before February 1, 2025, Seth said, "In the next couple of months." Seth said R&D investment by the private sector has not picked up despite giving tax exemption for R&D and hence the government has decided to be a partner in R&D and nudge the private sector to take the risk.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Interim Budget for 2024-25 on February 1, 2024, announced setting up a mechanism for spurring private sector-driven research and innovation at commercial scale with a financing pool of Rs 1 lakh crore.

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