‘Next Rajeev Motwani Can Build Startup Like Google': Nilesh Shah On Govt's Rs 1 Lakh Crore RDI Fund

Soon after the government's announcement of a Rs 1 lakh crore Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund, market veteran Nilesh Shah has made an impassioned urge to policymakers, in which he hopes that the initiative will truly empower India's brightest minds to innovate at home.

The managing director of Kotak AMC is hopeful that the next Rajeev Motwani will be able to build Google in India. He further hopes that the next Dr Guretj Singh Sandhu will be able to come up with more patents than Thomas Edison.

“Let us hope that this Research Development and Innovation Fund ensures that the next Dr Gurtej Singh Sandhu gets more patents than Thomas Alva Edison, the next Dr Subhash Mukhopadhyay doesn’t have to commit suicide for creating the first test-tube baby, the next Prof Arogyaswami Paulraj can invent MIMO technology in India, and the next Rajeev Motwani can mentor a startup like Google in India along with an investor like Ram Shriram,” Nilesh Shah posted on X, following the approval of the Special Purpose Fund (SPF) and implementation framework by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF).

The government's RDI fund, which was approved by the Union Cabinet on Oct 11, is designed to spur research and innovation within the private-sector. The scheme aims to operate through a two-tier financing model.

First, a Special Purpose Fund within the ANRF will manage the Rs 1 lakh crore corpus, channelling it to second level fund managers such as AIFs, DFIs and NBFCs, who will then look to invest that money in promising research and innovation projects.

Shah hopes that this move will truly benefit Indian innovators, especially at a time when tariff attacks from the United States have pushed back the economy, thereby spurring hunger for domestic innovation.

Nilesh Shah, who was one of the star panelists in NDTV Profit's IGNITE event, spoke at length about Swadeshi innovation, pointing out how Indian consumers must not 'expect a Mercedes right away, without settling for an Indica first'.

Nilesh Shah also spoke about the road ahead for silver, artificial intelligence and Indian markets. Listen to the full conversation using the link down below.