NEW DELHI, May 5: In a significant step aimed at boosting innovation, India is set to launch a ‘small business deep-tech innovation’ programme to empower start-ups and MSMEs to scale breakthrough technologies for real-world applications.
The newly-launched Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) will help the initiative, Union Science and Technology minister Jitendra Singh said on Monday after a review meeting.
Singh called for bold new directions in science-driven growth, including AI-led innovations, deep-tech start-ups and greater infrastructure sharing.
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The meeting witnessed the minister focus on the evolving role of the ANRF as well as ongoing national missions such as the geospatial initiative.
Abhay Karandikar, the science and technology department secretary, newly-appointed ANRF CEO Shivkumar Kalyanaraman and other senior officials attended the meeting.
Kalyanaraman presented an ambitious vision for the ANRF, promising catalytic funding mechanisms, deep integration with private industry, and strategic missions modelled on globally successful institutions such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Recognising the need to better utilise existing national research infrastructure, the minister reviewed ANRF’s plan to create a ‘cloud of research and innovation infrastructure’, a digital platform that would offer deep-tech start-ups and academic institutions access to underused scientific equipment and facilities across the country.
This move is expected to democratise research capabilities, especially for smaller players who often lack access to high-end lab tools, Singh said.
The minister directed the ANRF to engage with vice-chancellors of universities to raise awareness about its mission and opportunities for collaboration.
Singh also asked the ANRF to explore the possibility of helping medical colleges establish their own medical research parks — a move that could boost clinical innovation and local biotech entrepreneurship. (PTI)
