UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — PARLIAMENT QUESTION: RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION SCHEME

Question 1

Under the fund architecture of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, how many broad categories of entities have been notified as eligible to function as Second-Level Fund Managers?

Accepted Answer

Four

Answer

Two

Answer

Three

Answer

Six

Question 2

Consider the following statements regarding the funding mechanism of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme as compared with conventional government research support:
1. The Special Purpose Fund constituted within the Anusandhan National Research Foundation invests directly in eligible startups and companies, without routing money through intermediary fund managers.
2. Unlike outright grants-in-aid, support to eligible entities is extended as long-tenor loans at low or nil rates of interest, and as equity, particularly in the case of startups.
3. Besides direct debt and equity support, contribution to a Deep-Tech Fund of Funds is an admissible mode of deployment under the scheme.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 2 only

Answer

2 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Question 3

In the institutional design of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, what precisely is a 'Second-Level Fund Manager'?

Accepted Answer

An entity that draws money from the scheme corpus and on-lends to or invests in eligible technology projects

Answer

An asset management company appointed to park the idle balances of the scheme corpus in government securities

Answer

An inter-ministerial committee that ranks and scores project proposals submitted directly to the nodal department

Answer

A state government agency that must co-finance a matching share of every project sanctioned from the corpus

Question 4

With reference to the institutional arrangements of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, consider the following:
1. Department of Science and Technology — the nodal department for implementation of the scheme.
2. Anusandhan National Research Foundation — the institution within which the Special Purpose Fund of the scheme is constituted.
3. Empowered Group of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary — the body that reviews performance of the scheme and approves modifications to it.
4. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology — the ministry under which the Anusandhan National Research Foundation has been established.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 4

Answer

2, 3 and 4

Answer

3 and 4 only

Question 5

Consider the following statements regarding the approval, outlay and rollout of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme:
1. The scheme has a corpus of ₹1 lakh crore to be deployed over a period of six years.
2. The scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet on 1 July 2025.
3. An amount of ₹20,000 crore was earmarked for the scheme for the financial year 2025-26.
4. The scheme was formally launched in the same month in which it received Cabinet approval.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1, 2 and 4

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

3 and 4 only

Question 6

The ₹1 lakh crore approved by the Union Cabinet for the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme is, in its financial character, best described as which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

A corpus deployed through designated fund managers largely as repayable concessional debt and equity

Answer

An annual ceiling on grants-in-aid released to national laboratories and centrally funded research institutions

Answer

A viability gap funding window for capital projects notified in strategic and sunrise sectors of the economy

Answer

A sovereign guarantee extended to scheduled commercial banks lending to deep-technology startups and firms

Question 7

With reference to the ex-officio positions in the Anusandhan National Research Foundation as provided under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023, consider the following:
1. Prime Minister — President of the Governing Board.
2. Union Minister of Education — Vice-President of the Governing Board.
3. Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India — chairperson of the Executive Council.
4. Union Minister of Home Affairs — Vice-President of the Governing Board.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 4

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 3 and 4

Question 8

Under the enactment of 2023 that created it, how is the Anusandhan National Research Foundation characterised?

Accepted Answer

The apex body giving strategic direction to scientific research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the country

Answer

A statutory regulator that accredits research institutions and approves research curricula in universities

Answer

An autonomous society that conducts in-house research through a countrywide chain of national laboratories

Answer

A financing board extending seed capital exclusively to technology startups incubated in institutes of national importance

Question 9

With reference to the implementation status of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, consider the following statements:
1. The Technology Development Board and the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council have been designated as Second-Level Fund Managers under the scheme.
2. The Technology Development Board issued its call for project proposals in February 2026, ahead of the corresponding call issued by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council.
3. A call inviting applications from additional eligible entities, including Funds of Funds, to act as Second-Level Fund Managers closed in January 2026.
4. Only Focused Research Organisations already functioning under the Ministry of Science and Technology can be considered for appointment as Second-Level Fund Managers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

1, 2 and 3

Answer

1 and 4

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1, 3 and 4

Question 10

Which one of the following correctly reflects the sectoral and technological scope of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme as approved by the Union Cabinet in 2025?

Accepted Answer

Projects at Technology Readiness Level 4 and above in strategic and sunrise domains, including quantum computing, robotics and space

Answer

Projects at every Technology Readiness Level, subject only to the applicant being a private company operating in a sunrise domain

Answer

Projects confined exclusively to basic research in the natural sciences undertaken in government-owned research laboratories

Answer

Projects only in energy security and climate action, these being the sole two domains notified as strategic under the scheme

Question 11

The Science and Engineering Research Board, set up by an Act of Parliament in 2008, was dissolved and its Fund transferred to the country's apex research-funding body by virtue of which one of the following enactments?

Accepted Answer

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023

Answer

The Technology Development Board Act, 1995

Answer

The Research and Development Cess Act, 1986

Answer

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Act, 1986

Question 12

India's Gross Expenditure on Research and Development stands at about 0.64 per cent of GDP, with the private sector accounting for only around 35-36 per cent of it. The concessional financing intended to correct this imbalance is operationalised through which one of the following?

Accepted Answer

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation, acting through designated second-level fund managers

Answer

The Atal Innovation Mission, acting through its countrywide network of Atal Incubation Centres

Answer

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, through the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme

Answer

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, through its constituent chain of national laboratories

UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — PARLIAMENT QUESTION: RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION SCHEME

Q1. Under the fund architecture of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, how many broad categories of entities have been notified as eligible to function as Second-Level Fund Managers?

Q3. In the institutional design of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme, what precisely is a 'Second-Level Fund Manager'?

Q6. The ₹1 lakh crore approved by the Union Cabinet for the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme is, in its financial character, best described as which one of the following?

Q8. Under the enactment of 2023 that created it, how is the Anusandhan National Research Foundation characterised?

Q10. Which one of the following correctly reflects the sectoral and technological scope of the Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme as approved by the Union Cabinet in 2025?

Q11. The Science and Engineering Research Board, set up by an Act of Parliament in 2008, was dissolved and its Fund transferred to the country's apex research-funding body by virtue of which one of the following enactments?

Q12. India's Gross Expenditure on Research and Development stands at about 0.64 per cent of GDP, with the private sector accounting for only around 35-36 per cent of it. The concessional financing intended to correct this imbalance is operationalised through which one of the following?