RDI Fund aims to catalyze Rs 10 lakh Cr deep tech VC: DST Secy.

• DST Secretary Abhay Karandikar announced the Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) fund to boost India's deep tech ecosystem.
• The RDI fund aims to catalyze Rs 10 lakh crore in deep tech VC investments over 15 years, fostering globally competitive companies.
• Deployed over seven years (Rs 15,000-20,000 crore annually), it will invest in AIFs and startups, focusing on areas like new battery chemistries, EVs, quantum computing, and biotech.
• Unlike SIDBI's fund, the RDI fund is 10X larger, exclusively for deep tech, offers both equity and loans, and accepts lower IRRs to mitigate risk.
• Fund managers are expected to be finalized by January, hired by April, with deployment beginning by May 2026.

Why It Matters: New RDI fund aims to catalyze Rs 10 lakh crore private deep tech investment in India.