TDB Clarifies RDI Scheme Closure Reasons and Funding Status
The Ministry of Science & Technology issued a clarification regarding the closure of the Call for Proposal under the Research Development & Innovation (RDI) Scheme by the Technology Development Board (TDB). The clarification addresses incorrect media reports from September 30, 2026, which cited a shortage of funds as the reason for closure. TDB confirmed the closure was purely for "Administrative Reason" as notified on its website, with absolutely no shortage of funds for disbursement to Eligible Technology Enterprises (ETEs).
TDB had requested ₹500 crore for disbursement to ETEs based on its estimate for the 6-month period but was allocated ₹490 crore by the Research Development Innovation Fund (RDIF). As of September 30, 2026, which marks the 6-month period of the current financial year 2026-27, TDB has disbursed ₹375.69 crore to 10 ETEs from its first cohort of 22 ETEs. The organization still has ₹114.31 crore remaining that is yet to be disbursed. Under the RDI Scheme, TDB releases matching funds only after respective ETEs raise equivalent amounts from non-governmental sources, with actual disbursement limited by the time it takes ETEs to raise these matching funds and send demand notices to TDB.
The primary reason for closing the call is administrative, driven by unprecedented interest from ETEs that resulted in approximately 330 project proposals received between February 4 and September 30, 2026. TDB has evaluated 99 projects received during February and March 2026, selecting 35 for funding across the first cohort (22 projects) and second cohort (13 projects). Projects received in April and May 2026 are currently under evaluation. The Investment Committee and TDB are conducting numerous group stage meetings for initial screening and shortlisting, with the full IC meeting almost every week to manage the evaluation workload.
Despite these efforts, TDB has only been able to evaluate about 150 projects (including those currently under evaluation) during the first 7 months from March to September 2026 due to its rigorous techno-commercial evaluation process. This evaluation capacity constraint led to the decision to pause and close the call temporarily, with plans to reopen it shortly after assessing all projects received up to September 30, 2026. The DST/ANRF is in the process of assigning several other SLFMs in the very near future.