A Legal and Strategic Guide to the Research, Development and Innovation Scheme
India occupies a rare and uncomfortable paradox: a nation that ranks among the world's top five in 45 critical technology domains yet invests just 0.65% of its GDP in R&D. The Research, Development and Innovation Scheme, launched in November 2025 with a ₹1 Lakh Crore (approximately USD 12 billion) corpus, is the Government of India's most ambitious response to this gap. Structured as patient, concessional capital deployed through institutional intermediaries, RDIF is not merely a funding programme, it is an institutional reset, engineered to bridge India's world-class research excellence and its persistent commercial innovation deficit.
Our latest research paper, India's $12 Billion Deep Tech Bet, offers a comprehensive legal and strategic guide to this landmark scheme for its two principal constituencies: fund managers evaluating the Second Level Fund Manager opportunity, and deep tech companies assessing whether and how RDIF capital is accessible to them. From the three-tier governance architecture and the nuances of AIF contribution modes to the IP retention obligations and the control-test implications, we unpack every dimension of a scheme that is as legally complex as it is consequential. The architecture is in place, the capital is committed, and the first movers are already at the table, the question now is simply whether you will be among them.
Please click here to access our paper.
Dhairya Jain, Shiv Singhal and Dr. Nishith Desai
You can direct your queries or comments to the authors.