Need more research funding to drive deep tech growth, says IT Ministry's Additional Secretary

Meity additional secretary Abhishek Singh speaking at Startup Mahakumbh

India needs to substantially boost its research funding to accelerate deep tech advancements and strengthen its position in the global innovation landscape, Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said on April 4.

Speaking at day two of the Startup Mahakumbh, Singh underscored the necessity of scaling up investment in research and development, and said there was a significant gap between India’s current expenditure and that of global leaders like the US and China.

“Our research funding currently stands at approximately 0.7 percent of GDP, whereas China and the US allocate over 3 per cent. We must significantly increase this allocation,” Abhishek Singh said.

MeitY’s Additional Secretary acknowledged efforts such as the Rs 1 lakh crore Anusandhan Research Foundation (ANRF) and the Rs 10,000 crore deep tech fund of funds, and added that the key issue is to ensure these funds are deployed efficiently and without unnecessary delays.

“In AI alone, we have set aside Rs 2,000 crore for startups, but the real challenge lies in making funding decisions more efficiently and building a trust-based system that encourages investment in innovation,” he added.

Singh also called for expanding India’s startup ecosystem by establishing more accelerators similar to Y Combinator to facilitate rapid investment.

“The process of securing funding for startups in Silicon Valley is considerably faster than in India. Strengthening collaborations between academic institutions and startups—like the model at IIT Madras Research Park—and creating co-investment structures where government funds align with venture capital and private investors could unlock significant potential,” MeitY’s Additional Secretary said.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had sparked a debate after he compared India's startup ecosystem with that of China, and lamented the lack of deep tech innovation, a comment that evoked strong reactions from the startup ecosystem.