New Delhi, Feb. 4 -- Union Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh on Tuesday said that the Technology Development Board's (TDB) Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund marks one of the first initiatives of its kind by the government to directly fund private sector R&D, calling it a major shift in India's innovation financing ecosystem.

Addressing a press conference on the launch of the first call of TDB's RDI Fund, Singh highlighted a strong industry response. The minister said 191 proposals were received under the first call, of which nearly 160 came from private sector entities, indicating growing confidence and interest among private players.

"This shows a huge response from the private sector. Now the responsibili...