Applications to the Centre’s ₹1-lakh-crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) fund have been temporarily paused after an overwhelming response, a top government official said on 29 October 2026. The update matters for startup funding in India because the RDI scheme is the largest single deep-tech financing window the government has opened.
Department of Science and Technology Secretary Umesh V. Waghmare said companies in the deep-tech sector have the best option available right now in India under the RDI scheme, and that the private industry’s response has been outstanding so far. Applications are temporarily paused because there are too many proposals in the pipeline that require further processing.
Under the scheme, the government allows 50% of the capital, while a private player has to raise the remaining 50% from non-government sources, with a focus on deep tech or centralised technologies. The structure is designed to crowd private money into long-horizon research rather than replace it.
The scheme, under the Department of Science and Technology, supports not only startups or ideas but also incubation centres which prepare players to benefit from the corpus. That makes it relevant to founders still inside incubators as well as to companies ready to scale.
For deep-tech founders, the pause is a signal to prepare rather than wait. Proposals already in the pipeline are being processed, and the strength of the response suggests competition for the next window will be intense. Teams with clear technology milestones and matched private capital will be best placed when applications reopen.
Why it matters for founders
A paused window is not a closed door. Use the pause to sharpen the proposal: a defined technology milestone, a credible private co-funding plan for the 50% match, and an incubator partner if you are early. When the RDI window reopens, prepared applications will move first.