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Sunrise sectors to be identified through stakeholder consultation for Rs 1 lakh crore corpus, announces Economic Affairs secretary Ajay Seth 

Sunrise sectors to be identified through stakeholder consultation for Rs 1 lakh crore corpus, announces Economic Affairs secretary Ajay Seth 

Finance Secy says financing through a financial institution from government ambit.

Surabhi
Surabhi
  • Updated Feb 1, 2024 8:09 PM IST
Sunrise sectors to be identified through stakeholder consultation for Rs 1 lakh crore corpus, announces Economic Affairs secretary Ajay Seth India's Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth
SUMMARY
  • Ajay Seth says investments in research and innovation needed now, but returns may come later
  • DEA has been allocated funds for the scheme
  • Experts believe will encourage private sector, youth participation in tech research and innovation

Sunrise sectors that will be eligible for financing through the Rs 1 lakh crore corpus for research and innovation will be identified through stakeholder consultations, economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth said on Thursday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Interim Budget 2024-25 has proposed setting up the corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore with 50-year interest free loan. “The corpus will provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenors and low or nil interest rates. This will encourage the private sector to scale up research and innovation significantly in sunrise domains. We need to have programmes that combine the powers of our youth and technology,” she said.

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Addressing reporters at a post Budget conference, Seth said that investments are needed in research and innovation today while the returns may come a couple of years later, which can be anywhere from four to five years or even longer, which may not be commercially viable for the private sector. “The clear identification of the sunrise sector will be done through stakeholder consultations,” he said.

Elaborating on the announcement, finance secretary TV Somanathan said government will identify a financial institution from within the ambit of the public sector for the scheme. “The provision is for a period of time as the need emerges. This will be provided as a 50 year interest free loan to a financial institution, which will be identified, which will be within the government ambit of financial institution, who will then finance or refinance projects at long tenor and at concessional rates of interest,” he said, adding that money has been provided in the Budget to the department of economic affairs for multiple purposes including this scheme.

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The DEA has been allocated Rs 83,576.36 crore in the Interim Budget 2024-25, of which Rs 74051.72 is the capital outlay.

Experts have welcomed the move and said it would encourage more players in the private sector to take up research and innovation and also enable the youth to take forward their tech related innvotions. Rajan Bajaj, Founder-CEO, slice said the announcement positions India's R&D to capitalise on our young and dynamic demographic. “The provision of interest-free support will undoubtedly catalyse scaling up research and innovation, fostering significant strides in filling economic gaps. Made in India tech is the future,” he said.

Also Read: 'This is more of a speed bump for Paytm': Vijay Shekhar Sharma on RBI's action against Paytm Payments Bank

Published on: Feb 1, 2024 8:09 PM IST
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