India Rising Foundation rolls out Rs 1,000 cr fund to power research, innovation

Not-for-profit organisation India Rising Foundation on Friday announced a ?1,000 crore research and development grant fund. Under this fund, the foundation aims to empower one million research fellows, promote collaborative ecosystems, and bridge ancient wisdom with modern science across 12 key domains, including medicine, deeptech, space, defence, and sustainable energy.

The idea of the mission is to strengthen linkages between academia, industry, and government, supporting translational research and the commercialization of ideas, said Sunil Jose, president of the foundation. Jose, an IIM-Bangalore alumnus, said the fund aims to enable the ecosystem and make India the research and innovation capital of the world by 2047.

The plan includes launching a fellowship programme for one million people who will volunteer to help innovators. It also aims to set up a national library focused on experimenting and making R&D careers accessible. In addition, the foundation will build an open lab network across India, where anyone can come, verify, validate, and make their product.


The group said its focus areas will include diverse demographics such as women, rural talent, and differently abled youth.
“The one million fellowship programme will be an online certification model to create a bridge between us and the end researchers. The idea is to make research faster and more transparent,” said Shiv Talari, general secretary of the foundation. He added that most of India’s innovation potential lies in its villages and tier-2 and tier-3 towns. “For instance, Mysuru now produces more successful startups than Bengaluru,” he said.

The ‘fellows for research’ programme will target individuals in the 16 to 25 years age group, providing them exposure to research ecosystems, skilling opportunities, and entrepreneurial training.

Prahlada Rao, former director of the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), best known for the development of the AKASH missile system said, “For decades, I have witnessed brilliant Indian ideas get lost in the chasm between intention and execution. Systems either failed them or did not exist to support them."

As the principal ambassador for India Rising Foundation, Rao added that the foundation is an effort to unlock "India's collective genius" from classrooms and laboratories to villages and enterprises. " This mission is the culmination of my life as a researcher and scientist for the nation; I am seeing it being codified into a national movement," he said.