The Interim Budget 2024-25 presented by Hon’ble Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks volume for Viksit Bharat by 2047. The people centric approach, growth oriented policies and highly inclusive announcements of the budget aligns with the motto of New India which focus on ‘Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan’. Termed as the Viksit Bharat Budget, it facilitates the Yuva Peedhi as beneficiaries of New India and paved the way for the youth to flourish more in the field of innovation and research and development.
The announcement of the ‘Jai Anusandhan’ scheme is most promising and relevant for India’s new generation. The announcement to establish a Rs1 lakh crore corpus to fund research, with interest free loans for 50-years, will accelerate India’s entrepreneurial drive, thereby fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. This fund is designed to offer a robust financial foundation for cutting-edge research and development, particularly in emerging sectors. By providing long-term financing or refinancing options characterized by extended durations and minimal to zero interest rates, the initiative aims to stimulate the private sector’s involvement in scaling up research and innovation efforts.
Investing the corpus fund in research will catalyze innovation and entrepreneurship by providing scientists, researchers, and entrepreneurs with the resources they need to develop new ideas, technologies, and products. The corpus can support incubators, accelerators, and technology transfer initiatives that facilitate the translation of research findings into commercially viable solutions, creating new industries and job opportunities in the process.
The corpus can further encourage the young entrepreneurs and researchers to nurture their ideas and findings, contributing to the economic development of the country. Research-led innovation is considered as the significant key driver of economic growth and competitiveness in the global knowledge economy. By investing in research and development (R&D), the corpus can stimulate economic activity, create high-value jobs, and enhance the competitiveness of industries in both domestic and international markets. This corpus investment in the IT industry will help address the AI skill crunch and bridge the gap effectively. The financial backing will grant the private sector the capacity to become pioneers in areas of innovation. Overall, establishing a Rs1 lakh crore corpus has the potential to unlock new opportunities for investments in diverse fields of research, innovation and entrepreneurship.
For defence purposes and expediting ‘Atmanirbharta’ (Self Reliance), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that a new scheme will be launched for strengthening deep-tech technologies. It is indeed a welcome step as it indicates a positive sentiment of the government towards the game-changing role that the disruptive technologies behold. This development becomes all the more pivotal since the country aspires to excel in sunrise domains such as to become a global hub of semiconductor development, EV manufacturing, Lithium-Ion battery manufacturing and such like.
With a strong focus on science, technology, start-ups and innovation, the budget aims to propel the scientific development of the country and fulfill the goal of India being the third largest economy by 2047.
(The Author is Chairman, AICTE)
