The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a ？1-trillion corpus for the Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, aiming to spur private-sector investment in strategic and high-growth sectors through long-term, low-cost funding.
“Recognising the critical role that the private sector plays in driving innovation and commercialising research, the RDI Scheme aims to provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenors at low or nil interest rates,” the government said in a statement.
Addressing private funding gaps
The scheme is designed to address gaps in private-sector research funding by offering growth and risk capital to 'sunrise sectors' — industries with high growth potential such as deep-tech, AI, and green technologies.
The RDI scheme will also finance technology acquisition of strategic importance, enabling India to strengthen its domestic capabilities in key areas of global competition.
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How RDI scheme will work
The funding structure will operate at two levels:
At the first level, a Special Purpose Fund (SPF) will be established under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), which will manage the ？1-trillion corpus.
At the second level, fund managers will deploy these funds to specific R&D projects via long-tenure loans at little or no interest, or through equity infusions in start-ups.
The scheme may also invest in a ‘Deep-Tech Fund of Funds’, a pooled investment vehicle backing innovation-aligned ventures.
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Budgetary support and strategic growth
The RDI fund was originally announced in the July Budget for FY25. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech on February 1 this year, had earmarked ？20,000 crore to the Department of Science and Technology (DST) for this initiative.
DST’s budget has grown from ？2,777 crore in 2014 to ？28,509 crore in FY26, and gross expenditure on research and development has risen from ？60,196 crore to ？1,27,380 crore over the same period.
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The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection in June came in at ？1.85 trillion, reflecting a 6.2 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) rise, according to government data.
However, the June collections marked a decline when compared to the previous month. In May 2025, the Centre collected ？2.01 trillion, while April witnessed a record-high GST revenue of ？2.37 trillion.
According to official data, domestic transactions contributed approximately ？1.38 trillion in gross revenue in June, marking a 4.6 per cent increase over the same period last year. Revenue generated from imports also saw an upswing, growing by 11.4 per cent to reach ？45,690 crore.
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Breakdown: Central GST (CGST): ？34,558 crore, State GST (SGST): ？43,268 crore Integrated GST (IGST): ？93,280 crore. Revenue from cess: ？13,491 crore
Meanwhile, total refunds issued during the month rose significantly—by 28.4 per cent y-o-y—to ？25,491 crore, reported PTI.
The net GST revenue after refunds was approximately ？1.59 trillion, representing a 3.3 per cent increase compared to June last year.
Reacting to GST collections, Pratik Jain, partner PwC said that it indicates a softening of demand and cautious outlook.
“Around 6 per cent growth in GST collections, coupled with less than 4 per cent growth in advance tax collection for first quarter of FY 26 does indicate softening of demand and cautious outlook. One of the reasons could be conservative spending by the consumers which may improve in next couple of months with overall geopolitical situation improving," Jain said.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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