Discuss the role of a whole-of-government approach and private capital, such as the RDI Scheme, in building India's innovation ecosystem for Viksit Bharat 2047.

India spends only 0.84% of GDP on R&D (2023-24) [2]. ESTIC 2026 released an inter-ministerial National Vision Document covering 12 ministries/departments and 12 thematic areas [1]. Alongside the ₹1 lakh crore RDI Scheme [4], this points to a strategy with two engines: coordinated government action and patient private capital.

Role of the whole-of-government approach

• Ends siloed science policy: a single Vision Document sets shared long-term STI priorities aligned with Viksit Bharat 2047 [1].
• Accountability: a "theory of change" maps how each department contributes to the shared goal, with measurable three-year targets [1].
• Evidence base: the STI Outlook 2026, updated annually, measures the existing ecosystem to guide policy [1].
• Shared infrastructure: NM-ICPS (₹3,660 crore, approved 2018) [6] built 25 Technology Innovation Hubs in academic institutions [7].
• Integrated ecosystem: links academia, industry, startups and communities. For example, ocean-intelligence services put coastal communities at the centre [1].

Role of private capital: the RDI Scheme

• Takes on high risk: offers long-term financing or refinancing at low or nil interest for private-sector R&D [4].
• Builds on momentum: the private share of research spending (GERD) rose from 33.8% to 51.8% between 2019-20 and 2023-24 [2].
• Market-based selection: a Special Purpose Fund within ANRF lends through second-level fund managers [4]. TDB and BIRAC opened the first calls in Feb 2026 [5].
• From lab to market: moves the focus from discovery to deployment. The autonomous-systems roadmap runs from pilot validation (2030) to manufacturing (2035) to global competitiveness (2047) [1].

Challenges

• Low base: business R&D is still only about 0.4% of GDP (51.8% of 0.84%) [2].
• Slow execution: DST spent on average 4% below its Budget Estimates in 2016-20 [3]. By Feb 2026, only two fund managers had been appointed [5].
• Risk to basic science: three-year targets may favour projects close to a product over long-horizon research.

In short, the whole-of-government approach sets direction and private capital supplies scale. India should report target-versus-spending figures annually through the STI Outlook, publish how much RDI money is actually disbursed, set a separate goal for business R&D, and judge basic research by peer review. Together these can build the innovation-led, self-reliant economy envisioned for Viksit Bharat 2047 and SDG-9.