Anusandhan National Research Foundation
Also called: ANRF · Topic: Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-judicial Bodies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) is India's main public body for funding research. It is a statutory body, which means a law made by Parliament created it: the ANRF Act, 2023 (Act 25 of 2023). The Act came into force on 5 February 2024. ANRF pays for research through grants (money that does not have to be paid back), including basic science, the slow work done to understand nature. It is also the custodian (keeper) of the ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund. That fund is meant to bring more private companies into research.
Example
The RDI Fund's ₹1 lakh crore sits in a Special Purpose Fund (a separate account) inside ANRF. Second-level fund managers such as AIFs, DFIs and NBFCs then lend it to companies. ANRF's own spending has been slow. In 2023-24 the research foundation was promised ₹2,000 crore in the Budget, but this was cut to ₹259 crore later in the year. The main reason was that the new body still had to set up its rules, staff and project selection.
Don't confuse with
- RDI Fund: ANRF is the statutory body that holds the money. The RDI Fund is the money itself. It gives mainly low- or nil-interest loans for projects at TRL-4 or above (the idea already works in a lab test), and it covers at most 50% of a project's cost. ANRF grants also pay for early-stage science.
- Department of Science and Technology (DST): DST is a government department and the nodal department (the department in charge) for the RDI Scheme. ANRF is a separate body set up by its own Act.