NEW DELHI, Dec. 10 -- The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has cleared two fund managers and is close to shortlisting two more to operationalize the Centre's Rs.1 trillion research, development and innovation (RDI) incentivization scheme, three senior officials in the know said. The approvals represent the first concrete step toward implementing the scheme, announced earlier this year and cleared by the Union Cabinet in July, aimed at boosting domestic deep-tech research and development. With the fund-management structure now taking shape, the first tranche of startup applications under the RDI scheme is expected to open by March, covering industrial electronics, semiconductors, and quantum computing. The officials said that Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (Birac) and Technology Development Board (TDB) have been approved by DST's RDI cell to handle the rollout of the funds. Two other entities-Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) and SBI Funds Management, the AIF arm of India's largest public-sector lender, will soon be finalized. "RDI scheme needs four fund managers to handle the amount-one alternative investment funds (AIF) firm, one industrial bank, one technology specialist and a product specialist. DST is looking for bodies having experience in understanding deep technologies, which is why the process of appointing the managers has taken long," one of the three officials cited above said. "Implementation of the scheme will be carried out through second-level fund managers, including alternative investment funds (AIFs), development finance institutions (DFIs), non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) and focused research organizations (FROs). TDB and Birac were identified in the Cabinet Note as potential fund managers and the process of onboarding them is underway. As statutory bodies under the ministry, they may be appointed by nomination under the scheme rules," Jyoti Sharma, head, RDI cell, Department of Science and Technology, said. To onboard additional fund managers, a notice inviting applications has been issued and is available on the RDI Fund website, Sharma said, adding that appointments will be made after evaluating proposals from eligible NBFCs, AIFs, DFIs and FROs. A second official said that during a roundtable with industry stakeholders in Bengaluru on 4 December, RDI cell head Sharma indicated the remaining two fund managers could be finalized within three months. This was the second such industry consultation after an earlier meeting in Mumbai, with a third planned in Delhi in the coming weeks. Queries sent to the DST secretary, Birac, Sidbi and SBI-AIF remained unanswered till press time. According to the officials, Birac and TDB are set to open applications within a few weeks to fund research-based product development, with the other two managers expected to begin similar processes before the end of this fiscal year. "The RDI fund will only be available to an India-registered firm, whose controlling decisions are headed and managed by an Indian citizen. This will ensure the intellectual property, which has to be registered in India, adds to the gross domestic product of India," said Ashok Chandak, president of India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (Iesa)....