‘NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE’! Modi Govt approves ₹1 Lakh crore R&D fund for private sector

May 01, 2026

New Delhi, May 01, 2026 (ANI):Speaking on India’s AI Mission and Modi Government push for Research, Development and Innovation allocation for the private sector,Principal Scientific Adviser of the Government of India, Ajay Kumar Sood, said, "AI is moving in a very fast-forward mode. We have the AI Mission, which has many verticals. A lot of computing resources have been created by this AI Mission. The data AI course is very functional. In the AI summit, two major things were announced: theSarvam AI model and Bharat Gen. Both are going nicely, and we will have AI diffusion in various sectors." He adds, "What is path-breaking, which is keeping us busy, is the implementation of the RDI (Research, Development, and Innovation) fund, which is Rs 1 lakh crore by the government for R&D in the private sector. This has never happened before... it is already implemented through the Technology Development Board (TDB) and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), and the 2nd-level fund managers are being selected. This is where the R&D in the private sector will be catalysed. Our hope is now that the private sector should come forward and really take R&D to the next level."