Congress MP Praveen Chakravarty calls for transparency and independent review of the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund following scrutiny over proposals linked to committee members.
Congress MP Praveen Chakravarty has pushed the government to explain how it is guarding against conflicts of interest in the distribution of grants from the Research, Development and Innovation Fund, after an Indian Express investigation raised questions over the first round of approvals for the deep-tech scheme.
In a notice to the Rajya Sabha Secretary-General, Chakravarty asked ministers to set out the safeguards used to prevent both real and perceived conflicts in the selection process. He also sought an explanation of whether the government plans an independent review of the initial approvals and whether tighter rules will be introduced to ensure public money is allocated through what he described as a fair and impartial process.
The concern comes as the government scales up the fund, which was approved by the Union Cabinet in July 2025 and formally launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November 2025. The ₹1 lakh crore programme is intended to support high-impact research and deepen private sector involvement in strategic technologies, including artificial intelligence and other deep-tech fields. In the 2026-27 Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman added another ₹20,000 crore to the scheme.
According to the Indian Express investigation, 15 of the 22 companies that received grants had links to seven members of the selection committee, intensifying scrutiny of how decisions were made. The government’s public notice inviting applications for the fund says applicants must provide an undertaking confirming there is no conflict of interest in project selection, while the fund’s operating structure gives second-level managers such as the Technology Development Board and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council a role in screening proposals. BIRAC had already invited the first proposals under the scheme earlier this year.
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