Interim Budget 2024: Indian Government Proposes Rs 1 Lakh Crore for R&D

During the announcement of the Interim Budget for 2024-25, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman revealed plans of the Union Government to create a Rs 1 lakh crore corpus to promote technological innovation in promising sectors.

Sitharaman said a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore will be established with a 50-year interest-free loan from the government. This long-term financing at low or zero interest rates will be provided for research and development activities.

The FM stated this move would encourage private players to scale up innovation in emerging technologies significantly. The corpus addresses India's relatively low spending on R&D as a percentage of GDP compared to developed nations.

A new deep technology scheme will also be launched to advance indigenous capabilities in strategic sectors like defence. The government has been working to boost local manufacturing of electronics and semiconductors under initiatives like the Indian Semiconductor Mission and PLI schemes.