Research, Risk, and Reform: What the ₹1 Lakh Crore RDI Scheme Demands from India’s Education Ecosystem

A New Architecture for Innovation-Driven India

The Union Cabinet’s approval of the ₹1 lakh crore Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme is a historic commitment to building an innovation-led, self-reliant India. With its focus on strategic and sunrise sectors, the scheme lays the foundation for a future where research is not just an academic exercise, but a national mission.

This landmark initiative reflects the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, who has consistently placed science, technology, and youth-led innovation at the heart of India’s development journey. His trust in Indian researchers, entrepreneurs, and institutions has created the political will and public resolve needed for bold systemic reforms like this one.

As someone deeply engaged in India’s higher education and research ecosystem, as Chancellor of Shobhit University and Chairman of the ASSOCHAM National Council on Education, I believe that for this vision to succeed, funding alone is not enough. We must address foundational governance challenges that limit innovation within our universities and R&D institutions.

Research: Unlocking the True Potential of Universities

Anchored by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) under the leadership of the Hon’ble Prime Minister, the RDI Scheme aims to mobilize large-scale private investment in research. It offers long-term, low or nil interest financing, concessional equity support, and a Deep-Tech Fund of Funds to back ambitious, high-TRL (Technology Readiness Level) projects.

This is designed to do what India has long needed: shift from being a consumer to a creator of critical technologies. Importantly, this opens long-awaited doors for private universities to become legitimate and recognized contributors to India’s innovation ecosystem.

Yet, despite their vast potential, India’s universities, particularly private HEIs, are not yet structurally empowered to fulfill this role. The reasons are systemic:

1. Unequal Access to Public R&D Funding: Private institutions are frequently excluded or deprioritized in government-supported research schemes. Rigid accreditation or ranking filters act as gatekeepers, often overlooking genuine research potential.
2. Weak Industry-Academia Linkages: While the NEP 2020 envisions closer collaboration, the absence of structured incentives and shared accountability means partnerships between universities and industry remain sparse and symbolic.
3. Over-Regulated, Under-Supported: Many private institutions face intense regulation but lack autonomy in designing research-led programs or accessing funding. True innovation demands flexibility—academic, administrative, and financial.
4. Inadequate Capacity for IP, Deep-Tech, and Commercialization: Even where cutting-edge research exists, most HEIs lack the institutional infrastructure to commercialize it—be it through IP offices, tech transfer units, or translational research parks.

Risk: What Holds Us Back from Innovation at Scale

One of the biggest barriers to building an innovation-led economy is institutional risk aversion. The RDI Scheme provides capital, but unless our institutions are empowered to take bold bets, the results will remain limited. India’s HEIs have operated in an ecosystem where:

• Regulatory audits prioritize compliance over creativity
• Research is judged more on quantity than disruptive potential
• High-risk, high-reward projects are avoided for fear of reputational or financial scrutiny

In contrast, ecosystems like:

• DARPA (USA) fund moonshot ideas with real-world application, often through university consortia.
• Stanford and Berkeley helped birth Silicon Valley by enabling academic entrepreneurship.
• Israel’s innovation model is deeply linked to defense R&D and university excellence.

India must now move towards a culture that rewards responsible risk-taking. The RDI Scheme creates that possibility—but our mindset and systems must follow.

Reform: What Governance Must Now Deliver

While the RDI Scheme rightly empowers universities, startups, and research labs, the onus cannot be on them alone. If we want transformation at scale, the entire governance architecture must evolve.

1. Inclusion of Private HEIs in National R&D Missions; Stop treating private universities as peripheral to India’s scientific goals. Allow equal and transparent access to funds, policies, and consultations based on merit, not ownership.
2. Decentralized and Mission-Driven Granting Structures: Enable flexible grant programs under the RDI umbrella, allowing public and private HEIs to lead or co-lead national missions, in collaboration with industry and civil society.
3. Autonomy With Accountability: Grant real institutional autonomy, but link public support to measurable outcomes: patents, products, jobs, research quality, and community impact.
4. Establish Regional RDI Hubs Around Capable Universities: Encourage universities to become regional innovation anchors, driving collaboration across disciplines, geographies, and sectors.
5. Incentivize Industry-Academia Co-Investment: Provide tax or matching grant incentives to industries that co-fund university research, de-risking private capital while creating aligned innovation pathways.

Our Commitment at Shobhit University

As a self-funded university rooted in rural India, we understand both the promise and the pain points of research in underserved regions. But we also believe that with the right support, universities like ours can rise as national knowledge partners.

We are committed to:

• Building interdisciplinary, mission-aligned research centres
• Creating pathways for student and faculty entrepreneurship
• Deepening industry and government collaboration
• Anchoring innovation in the needs of Bharat—not just India

We see the RDI Scheme not just as a financial opportunity, but as a signal of national trust in India’s academic institutions. It is a call to move from regulation to enablement, from exclusion to inclusion, and from incrementalism to bold innovation.

Conclusion: From Vision to Institutional Courage

The RDI Scheme could well be India’s DARPA moment—a bold, mission-led, public-private engine for disruptive innovation. But it must also become our Silicon Valley opportunity—where academia, industry, and state capacity intersect to create enduring ecosystems.

India now needs:

• A culture of research that accepts uncertainty
• Governance that supports flexibility and rewards outcomes
• A national narrative that trusts its universities to lead, not just comply

Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji, we have the resolve. Let us, in the education and research community, respond with equal courage.

This is not just a policy shift—it is a national invitation to co-create the future.

Let us not miss it!